Ganduje fires at El-Rufai as fight over evacuation of positive COVID-19 almajiris continues

Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State yesterday berated his Kaduna State counterpart, Governor Nasir El-Rufai, asking him to stop politicizing the issue of almajiris evacuated to the state who tested positive to COVID-19. Recall that Governor El-Rufai had last week, said over 50 almajirai evacuated to the state from Kano State had tested positive for COVID-19, besides 16 and eight from Jigawa and Gombe states respectively.

Governor El-Rufai had posted on Twitter that, “COVID-19 Update: The Kaduna State Ministry of Health this evening confirmed receipt of 16 more positive results, 15 of them from almajiris.

The state has now recorded 50 cases from repatriated almajiris. Active cases have risen to 59.” But Governor Ganduje in a statement said  some  of the almajirais also evacuated to Kano State during the exercise, tested positive for COVID-19 positive and that he did not make noise about it.. Governor Ganduje in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Abba Anwar, said among others, “We are not making politics out of it, no noise making.

To put record straight on the movement of Almajirai across states of the federation and how Kano embarks on the exercise, “We agreed at the Northern Governors Forum that all Almajirai be moved to their states of origin. That is why we are sending, in good faith and procedures, all Almajirai that are not from Kano state to their respective states of origin.

The exercise was not political and should not be politicized. “The way we are sending back almajiris to their states of origin, we are also receiving Almajiris from other states who are Kano indigenes. But the fact that we are not making noise about it does not mean they are all healthy without COVID-19 infections. “Let’s make it categorically clear that, some of the Almajiris brought to Kano during the exercise, are also COVID-19 positive, but we are not making politics out of it.

Because we all believe that what they need most now, is not noise making or publicity. What they need at this critical point in time is, care giving. “People should also understand that, these children were not infected in the process of transporting them to their respective states.

So noise making is not fit as a way forward. All we are doing is simply to comply with the Northern Governors’ Forum decision that all Almajiris in our states should be taken back to their respective states, simple,” the statement however reads.” Meanwhile, Coordinator, Kano State Task Force on Coronavirus, COVID-19, Dr Tijjani Hussain, yesterday said no fewer than 47 health workers in the state had tested positive for the virus.

The Coordinator who spoke during a briefing by the state taskforce on COVID-19 said with the additional 29 new cases recorded in the state Saturday night, “ we have recorded 576 confirmed cases, out of which 29 were new recorded on Saturday.

Out of the total number of the confirmed cases, we also discharged 10 patients bringing it to 32 so far discharged. Similarly, out of the total number we have in Kano, we recorded three deaths on Saturday, making the total number of deaths recorded to be 21. In a related development, Ganduje has told health workers in the private health facilities not to reject patients, noting that sending them away  could equally mean helping COVID-19 to wreck more havoc on people.

A statement by the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Ganduje, Abba Anwar, said among other “We don’t want you to be sending away patients who come to you for other illnesses. Even though we are in the COVID-19 pandemic era, that does not mean other illnesses are gone. We want you to be running your other services.

Credits