As the number of deaths in Kano soars, Governor Abdullahi Ganduje has accused the Federal Government of not giving the state enough attention in the fight against COVID-19.
In the past one week, the state has recorded multiple deaths, with Sabitu Shaibu, deputy head of the state’s task force on COVID-19 putting the toll at 640.
Shaibu attributed the strange deaths to hypertension, acute malaria, and diabetes.
The governor, who spoke on BBC Hausa Service yesterday, said the state was not getting support from the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19.
He said there was a shortage of sample collection equipment and the laboratory in the state was not functioning.
“We are in a serious problem. I can tell you the situation is really bad and scary. Because what we solely rely upon in fighting the disease is the testing centre,” Ganduje said. “There is also a shortage of sample collection equipment. It is not common equipment that you can go and buy in the market. Those whose samples were collected are still waiting to know their fate.
“The problem is with the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19. Even its director-general was in Kano. He spent a night here but we have not heard from him again. The Minister of Health is also aware that the laboratory is not functioning.
“There is a serious problem. We have been complaining that Kano needs more than one testing centre, right from the beginning of this.
“Sincerely speaking, we are not getting deserved attention. If these equipment are under our control, we will do our best to make sure it works properly. But we are not getting the needed support and co-operation from the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19.”
Meanwhile, ex-Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso has asked the Federal Government to take over Kano State’s response on COVID-19.
In a letter to President Buhari, he said the state has been “in a tug of war” with the NCDC since it recorded its first case of the disease and accused the state of not managing the crisis well.
The former senator said the state government’s initial denial of the unusual deaths “has cultivated mistrust and doubt” in residents, accusing it of failing to “provide the desired leadership required at a critical time like this.”
“At the moment, the state government palliatives are being distributed based on political patronage (four persons in each polling unit of 500 persons),” Kwankwaso said.
“The situation in the state should not be seen by Mr. President as a state government matter that should be left to the state.
“The lives of tens of millions of Nigerians living in Kano State are at stake, as such the central government should be seen to be actively involved in caring for, and saving their lives. There is need for empathy.”
The former governor said Kano should reconstitute its COVID-19 task force, which he said has not been technically disbanded, while five additional test centres and 10 more sample collection centres should be set up across the state.
“The task force should designate trained medical personnel in all cemeteries across the state that will collect records of all deaths.