The Presidential Task Force on Control of COVID-19 said Thursday that it has set up a committee to investigate allegations of coronavirus results racketeering.
National Coordinator of the Presidential Task Force, Dr Sani Aliyu, said this at a briefing in Abuja.
He said results racketeering was illegal and would endangered lives and damage the country’s reputation.
He said those found culpable would be dealt with according to the law.
“A committee has been set up to investigate this and all those involved and found to culpable will be dealt with according to the law,” he said.
He said the Presidential Task Force would not tolerate any act capable of putting people’s lives at risk, stressing that a technological means was being developed “for identifying and verifying results.”
The national coordinator also warned against unnecessary international travel during the yuletide, saying with the fresh wave of the spread of the virus in Europe and other places, anyone on a trip to the affected areas could be stranded.
Also speaking, the Director-General of Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Mr Chikwe Ihekweazu, expressed concerns that some states were not conducting enough tests, making it difficult to understand the burden of the diseases for effective response.
He listed the states not testing enough to include Cross Rivers, Jigawa, Kogi, Osun, Ebonyi Adamawa and Zamfara.
“It’s important to test, to manage the outbreak and plan for vaccination,” he said.
He said the Federal Capital Territory, Lagos and Kaduna states currently have the highest cases.
He urged Nigerians to maintain the COVID-19 protocols as the year comes to end and festive period draws.
He said Nigerians must avoid mass gatherings in view of the fact the country’s coronavirus “numbers are not looking good and we need to take this very seriously as we plan for the end of the year.”
