‘I’ve been embarrassed in a season of Joy’, Lai says he doesn’t have COVID

Alhaji Lai Mohammed, Minister of Information and Culture, has said he has not contracted coronavirus.

The minister said this in a statement which Segun Adeyemi, his spokesman, issued on his behalf on Sunday.

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The minister said as a member of the Presidential Steering Committee on COVID-19, he would have disclosed his status if truly he contracted the virus.

“The attention of the office of the Honourable Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has been drawn to a report making the rounds that he has contracted the Covid-19 virus and that he is now in isolation, where he is receiving treatment.”

For the record, the Minister does not have Covid-19, hence he is neither in isolation nor receiving treatment anywhere. That report, which was first published by an online newspaper and then latched on to by some mainstream media, once again highlights
the uphill task we face in our campaign to stamp out fake news and misinformation.

“The Minister was at the Federal Executive Council meeting on Wednesday, an extraordinary FEC meeting on Thursday and also witnessed the swearing-in of the Minister of State for Works and Housing on Friday. All these events took place at the Villa, where the
correspondents of many media organizations are deployed. In fact, the Minister coordinated the post-FEC press briefing on Wednesday and Thursday. Could he have done this from the imaginary isolation centre where he was consigned by a mischievous reporter?

“As a member of the Presidential Steering Committee on Covid-19, the Minister has the added responsibility of leading by example, hence would not have hesitated to publicly announce his Covid-19 status if indeed he has contracted the virus. After all, he is not only fully vaccinated, he has also taken the booster shot, a situation that offers him different layers of protection even if he contracts the
virus. For those who contract the virus, they deserve our empathy and prayers, not stigmatization.

“In the best tradition of journalism, we expect the online newspaper behind this news not only to retract the publication but also to apologize to the Minister for causing him such embarrassment, especially in a season of joy.”