Desmond Mgboh, Kano
Kano State Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje has dismissed the report of mass deaths in Kano as a piece of rumour, saying the figure of deaths collated from graveyards in the metropolis did not come close to the claims of the report.
Speaking to a television station, the Governor observed: “Certainly, we saw it on the front page of Daily Trust, but I will like to assure you that that story was not true. It is a rumour.”
The governor explained that investigation across three local government areas showed that “on the 19th to date, we found that there were only three deaths in Gwale Local Government Area, from Kano Municipal we found that there were seven deaths, and from Kumbotso, we found that there were only three deaths recorded.
“You see that if we put these figures together, they are nothing close to the figures of deaths being speculated. So what we are telling you is that this report is a complete rumour.
“What is important is, however, that we immediately swung into action. As you know, prior to this moment, we did not have death registrars at our graveyards. But because of that information, we decided to revitalise our community information structure, whereby we have now people on the graveyards giving us information on the number of deaths and also on the causes of their deaths.
“Now, we have instituted a structure that we can be getting information on the number of deaths on a daily basis.”
The governor also said that from the records of the state, only one person has died from COVID-19 in the state.
He admitted that Kano is a megacity and was bound to have deaths like any other city in the world, but insisted that “we have not witnessed an increase in deaths as a result of the pandemic.”
He expressed displeasure over the number of confirmed cases in the state but added that the figures are beginning to show because more testings are taking place due to the establishment of a centre in the state.