Kogi State Commissioner for Health, Dr Saka Haruna, has alleged that the state is under pressure to announce false cases of COVID-19.
Haruna made the allegation on Thursday, saying Kogi will not yield to such pressure.
The commissioner made the statement following a report that four persons who tested positive for coronavirus died at the Federal Medical Centre, Lokoja.
Haruna said as the Commissioner of Health who also has a representative of the FMC Lokoja in the state’s squadron against COVID-19 /Lassa fever, coronavirus cases has not been reported in meetings.
He added, “First and foremost, it is imperative that the public realise that there is no state government that can deliberately put her people in harm’s way for whatever political reason and the current administration has been scored high by local and international observers on health. We have and will continue to put the health of our people as first priority.
“We have been in an annual fight against Lassa fever as the state is located in the Lassa fever belt, recording several cases with regrettable losses. We were first to establish a Biosafety Laboratory for Lassa fever in Nigeria and this year alone we have confirmed 30 cases of Lassa fever that was duly announced. To accuse the state of a cover-up of COVID-19 cases is mischievous and at best politically inclined.”