Submit Yourselves To Test, Elumelu Tells Gbajabiamila, Others

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The Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Ndudi Elumelu, has announced that he and members of his family tested negative for coronavirus after a period of isolation in London.

Elumelu said this in a statement, in Abuja, on Monday. He also called on the Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila, the leadership of the House, as well as members to equally subject themselves to the test.

The statement read in part, “Elumelu who was in isolation and his entire family from London, took the coronavirus test and the result confirmed them all negative.”

In a related development, a member of the House, Mr. Shehu Koko, (APC, Kebbi) urged the Federal Government to extend palliatives to Nigerians by including suspending the payment of electricity and water bills for two months.

Koko, who is Chairman of the House Committee on Air Force, said this in a statement on Monday.

He said, “Our Country is going through trying times just like the international communities. While we continue to pray for God to come to our rescue, I urge the Federal Government to provide basic amenities like water and electricity at no cost, especially (for) those at the grass roots level without interruption. This, I believe, will go a long way to assist the Federal Government’s decision to provide relief materials to citizens this period.

“Though these amenities are private sector driven, we urge the government to intervene and ameliorate the sufferings of the people.”

Koko also hailed the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari’s order to shut down states mostly infected with the virus for two weeks. This he described as a step in the right direction.

He equally said, “I will also use this trying period to educate my constituents on the danger of coronavirus and preventive ways to contain the virus for a better Nigeria.”

Meanwhile, Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Mr. Benjamin Kalu, has provided relief and hygiene materials to Bende Federal Constituency in Abia State in the fight against coronavirus pandemic.

Kalu, in partnership with the Federal Medical Centre Umuahia, is also training 30 of his constituents as ad hoc workers to sensitise people of the area about COVID-19.

The lawmaker, who made this known in a statement, in Abuja, said, “As part of our way of supporting the efforts of the Federal Government as well as the Government of Abia State in combating the pandemic, l have set up the Bende Representative COVlD-19 Task Force to operate with three emergency vehicles around the Constituency for the sensitisation of our people and the provision of rapid response to any health emergencies.

He stressed that he was working in partnership with the emergency response team at Federal Medical Centre Umuahia as well as the Medical Director, Dr. Onyebuchi, to train select Bende healthcare personnel on World Health Organisation approved guidelines for preventing the spread of coronavirus.

“These trainees will form the Bende Representative COVlD-19 Emergency Health Corps.” He said.

This is in addition to the deployment of thousands of relief supplies such as face masks, hand sanitisers, hand gloves, washing soaps, thermometers and various food items to his constituents.