Well over two weeks since he was last seen in public, Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq of Kwara State, on Monday, said he proceeded into self-isolation shortly after returning from the National Economic Council (NEC) meeting in Abuja in full compliance with the safety protocols of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control on COVID-19.

“Until now, I have remained in self-isolation shortly after returning from the National Economic Council meeting in Abuja on March 19. This is in keeping faith with the COVID-19 protocol that requires anyone with probable exposure to the virus, especially after travelling to frontline areas, to either self-isolate for 14 days incubation period or get tested to know their status,” he said.

Speaking with journalists in Ilorin during the launch of the Federal Government’s conditional cash transfer of N20,000 each to 25,000 households in the state, the governor said, “Alhamdulillah, I am fine as I have always been.”

The governor, who departed the event to do an on-the-spot assessment of the Sobi Specialist Hospital which houses the state isolation centre, said Kwara had long started preparing for any eventuality on COVID-19.

He added however that no preparation is enough because even countries with better facilities and wherewithal are also fine-tuning their strategies and getting more facilities to cope with the pandemic.

Asked to comment on the UITH incident of suspected coronavirus case, Abdulrazaq said the controversies arose because of lack of full disclosures by the affected parties — something he observed was a breach of protocol.

Abdulrazaq said the government awaits the outcome of the internal investigation of the incident by the UITH before taking further steps, “even though our own committee has immediately sprung into action which included contact tracing and isolation of all persons believed to have had contact with the deceased.”

The governor said that samples had also been taken and results are being awaited as on Monday morning.

“We have done six tests before now that turned out to be negative. We are awaiting some other results shortly. However, I must say that only the NCDC is empowered to make a pronouncement in the event of anything,” he said.

Meanwhile, Head of Unit of the National Cash Transfer Office, Hajia Amina Bagudu, said the payment to the beneficiaries gulp a total of N550,405,000 including, “some arrears and top up.”