Buhari removed nose mask to speak
The Presidency has reacted to the report that made wave over the weekend on President Muhammadu Buhari’s flouting of the COVID-19 rule at his hometown in Daura, Katsina state where he went to revalidate his membership of the All Progressive Congress (APC).
The story which broke on Saturday had Nigerians and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) expressing dismay over the breaking of the rule which attracts a fine or six months jail term.
According to a report by the Punch newspaper citing a Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily programme on Monday, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, refuted the claim stating that his principal had his mask on during the exercise but only removed it when he spoke to the microphone.
The SSA in his words noted that “People are missing the point. The President had his nose mask on through that engagement. He had it off when he was speaking into the microphone. It is just a childish antic by PDP.” The President has also been criticised for mobilising no fewer than nine governors to accompany him to Daura despite the government’s social distancing health advice.
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The Presidential spokesman, however, said there was nothing wrong with the number of governors and APC chieftain in the delegation stating that this is to drive the spirit of the re-registration and the revalidation of membership. We must convey to the nation that we the party is behind the process and everyone is involved.
Meanwhile, it can be recalled that the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 advised that Nigerians should have their mouths covered with masks during speeches to keep off respiratory droplets through which the virus can be transmitted. The new directive by the federal government has criminalized the refusal to use facemask in any public gathering attracting a fine or jail term of 6 months.