Secretary to Delta State Government, Barrister Chiedu Ebie, has been issued a clean bill of health by medical professionals and may resume full scale official duties on Monday July 13.
Barrister Chiedu Ebie tested positive for Corona Virus in the process of working round the clock with various groups and critical stakeholders in the fight against the spread of COVID-19 in Delta State.
Executive Assistant to the Governor of Delta State on Communications, Barrister Fred Latimore Oghenesivbe in swift reaction to Ebie’s clean bill of health, quoted the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr Olisa Ifeajika as saying that the SSG who had been in the isolation centre for 21 days was discharged on Sunday July 12, after testing negative for the virus, adding that Ebie’s discharge brought the number of discharged cases of the virus so far in the state to 583.
Oghenesivbe said the state government will continue to do the needful from time to time so as to ensure that Deltans are protected from the pandemic, through the provision of medical infrastructure and regular payments of allowances and benefits to nurses and medical professionals who are working round the clock to save lives.
He said Delta had recorded 1,359 confirmed cases of infected persons, with 745 of them still active, while extremely critical cases took the lives of 31 persons, pointing out that death rates would have been leaser if those affected had reported and relocated to isolation centres early enough.
The EAC who was recently inducted into the Global Good Governance Hall of Fame as Ambassador further asserted that Gov Okowa has demonstrated serious commitments against the spread of Covid-19 in the state, as can be seen from proactive steps taken in terms of increased number of isolation centres, mobile testing, media advocacy, training and retraining of nurses and medical professionals and above all for being transparent and honest in disclosing status of members of his cabinet who were infected by the deadly virus.
“This administration deserves the support and commendation for the enviable roles it has been playing and still ongoing, in the fight against the spread of Covid-19.
“The major problem faced by government is in the area of compliance wherein some persons acting on ignorance, believe that the virus does not exit. This is a fatal ignorance because the virus does exit and still wrecking havoc around the global as over 160,000 deaths have been recorded worldwide and still counting.”
“We are indeed very happy that SSG Ebie is back and ready to resume work anytime soon. For 21 days, we missed his fast track quality services, open door policy, frank talks and his candid advise on issues as the head of the state Secretariat. To God be the glory!
“There are also strong indications that His Excellency the Platinum Governor of Delta State, Senator Dr Ifeanyi Arthur Okowa, his amiable wife and Delta first Lady, Dame Edith Okowa and their daughter, may soon join the list of discharged persons. They are doing great and we shall continue to pray for their quick recovery,” Oghenesivbe assured.’
In the same vein, CPS Ifeajika said Ebie thanked Deltans and other Nigerians who prayed for him and had continued to pray for other patients of the virus, including members of the First Family of the state.
He reaffirmed the state government’s commitment to combating the pandemic, and urged citizens to eschew prejudices and indiscipline.
“The vices are militating against compliance with the COVID-19 protocols in the state. Adherence to the directive on the protocols would greatly minimise the spread of the virus in the state,” Ifeajika said.
In a related development, the CPS debunked media reports by some online news media and bloggers which had reported that the State Governor, Senator Dr Ifeanyi Arthur Okowa, directed all media aides as well as senior government officials to undergo compulsory Covid-19 test.
Ifeajika in a statement titled; “Okowa didn’t order anyone to undergo COVID-19 test,” said the state governor did not at anytime direct members of government and civil servants to undergo COVID-19 test, pointing out that the governor’s position since the global pandemic spread to Delta, had always been appeal to citizens to adhere to the protocols prescribed by Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) to stem the spread of the virus in the state.
He said the governor had also continued to advise that anyone feeling unwell should go to any of the COVID-19 centres across for proper check and treatment, where necessary, saying that there was no time that Gov Okowa gave any directive, either by internal memo or any press release that government officials should go for test for any disease, including COVID-19.
The governor’s spokesman also distanced his office and the government from another social media report to the effect that the entire media team of the Governor tested positive for COVID-19, culminating to shutdown of the Press Unit.
“All the reports are deliberate falsehood, and the purveyors are hereby challenged to publish the alleged internal memo and the signatory.
“The concocted stories, especially the one on no fewer than 43 members of Government House press crew testing positive for COVID-19, only existed in the imagination of the authors as I never spoke to any journalist on the matter.
“For clarity and emphasis, the CPS did not address journalists on Wednesday or any other day recently, not the least, the author of the falsehood. The author’s action is anything but irresponsible and yellow journalism, a misnomer that is acidic and seriously abhorred in the profession.
“As a government, we have our authorised sources of information and anything not released from such sources is fake news and should be discountenaced by members of the public.
“At every point in time, and with every development on COVID-19, we give updates as demonstrated when principal officers in the government tested positive for COVID 19 and we promptly brought it to public knowledge.
“The government will continue to promptly announce any development in the management of the pandemic in the state through its official channels.
“The office of the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor is also available round the clock for journalists to seek clarifications on issues,” he stated.Covid-19: Delta SSG Ebie Discharged, May Resume Work On Monday July 16.
