COVID-19: Presidency Begins Fumigation Of Buhari’s Offices
Three days after Mallam Abba Kyari, Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari was reported to have tested positive to the COVID-19 (Coronavirus), the Presidency has started fumigation of the nation’s seat of power known as Aso Rock.
This is as some staff in the Chief of Staff office have self-isolated themselves when the test result of their boss was positive, have lamented that they were yet to be tested.
Already the panic mood in the State House has hit hard some members of the State House Press Corps who were said to have come in contact with some governors during the National Economic Council, NEC last week Thursday.
It was gathered that some staff of Julius Berger, the company responsible for the maintenance of the massive structure started sanitizing all the keys to the entry point to Council Chamber early this week.
It was further gathered that Fumigation experts arrived at the Villa about 9.30 am on Thursday to commence intensive fumigation of all the offices and environment of the Presidential Villa.
A presidential source hinted that as about 11.15 am, the experts were already in the main building housing the offices of President Buhari, the floors, corridors and major pathways.
The source said, “These people are not from the Villa. They came from outside of the town (Abuja city). They are dressed in complete white overalls, masked and wear other protective gears. “The dressing is similar to how the National Centre for Disease Control people wears their protective gears.”
Recall that authorities at the State House through the Office of Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity had on Tuesday pruned down the number of journalists covering the Villa as a precautionary measure to observe social distancing.
Staff were also scaled down by the management to reduce human traffic in and out of the Villa in bid to address spreading of Coronavirus pandemic, that had also infected some regime top officials.
A source in the Chief of Staff office lamented on Wednesday night that they were still waiting for the Nigeria Center for Disease Control, NCDC, to come and test their status after the result of Mallam Kyari was said to be positive.
“We are still waiting for the NCDC to come and test us.” the source said.
Some members of the State House Press Corps also said, “we are having psychological trauma because of the nature of our beat. We all need to be tested but we are being told that the test kits are not enough and until one begins to show symptoms of COVID-19.”
