EDO 2020: Kogi Athletes, Officials Test Negative To COVID-19

All 41 athletes and 35 officials from Kogi State for the 20th National Sports Festival have tested negative to COVID-19 at the sports fiesta in Benin, Edo State, Nigeria.

The Kogi State government had persistently maintained that the state is COVID-19 free despite reports by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) that it had some cases.

The state contingent, who arrived at the festival got their COVID-19 test results early after undergoing a rigorous screening conducted by the NCDC officials.

In the early days of the pandemic when  measures were taken by many world leaders, the Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, was caught on video declaring, “We ain’t got no COVID.”

He dismissed reports that he either had the disease or that it had reached his state.

A top health official at the sports fiesta in Benin City said it was against this background that the closer-than-usual spotlight was put on the Kogi State contingent.

“The 100 per cent negative COVID-19 result for Kogi contingents in the ongoing sports festival in Benin is now raising questions,” the top health official said.

“Could Governor Yahaya Bello have been right all along? Should we have listened more to him?” 

Local Organising Committee (LOC) however said that the contingents from Oyo and Taraba states stand disqualified from the sports festival as their contingents failed to meet with the Covid-19 guidelines for the games.

Chidi Nwoke/The Guardian.