The Cross River state Governor, Sen. Prof Ben Ayade, said the proliferation of rapid covid-19 test as administered by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, (NCDC) lacks scientific justifications thereby making it a political jamboree as well as trade fare for dealers of reagents across the globe.
The governor made this staggering remark Thursday when he appeared on Channels Tv Sunrise Daily
“If NCDC continue to lower the criteria just to get more people tested, I begin to wonder. How can I be testing somebody who hasn’t come in contact with someone who have got the virus? I will only test you when I have reasons to test.
“Testing as it were, is just a way of showing basically the right thing to do, but I can tell you, this Coronavirus testing have gone eco-political. But for me, it is science, it is reality and because a wrong mentality will give you a wrong reality, I have the right mentality to do tracing because only contact tracing can help you identify who is to be tested. As a professor of science I know that we are also not customising the action plan that reflect our originality
“You only test when there is a suspicion that calls for concern. For you to ascribe a test of a person and say this person is confirmed that he’s carrying the virus, there are certain principles in science that you must obey. It’s not enough to do a rapid diagnostic test. I am a scientist please” he enthuned.
Speaking further on both the political and economic dimensions to the virus, the Professor of Microbiology says
“For the U.S, it is about their November election. For some business men, it’s about more reagents, more money. Out there in the western world, there is a business man making sure that he sales”.
Meanwhile, the Director General of NCDC, Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu condemned the low testing rate of Covid-19 in the state. Noting that testing is the only valid means to ascertaining the true status of the citizens.
