Posted on: Thu 16-04-2020

The Chairman, 

Nigerian Medical Association (NMA),

Edo State Branch, 

RE: COVID-19 RESPONSE IN EDO STATE: A CALL FOR FURTHER ACTION 

On behalf of the Government of Edo State, I wish to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated 6th day of April, 2020 on the above subject matter, which has been widely circulated in the Electronic and Print Media. In your said letter, you had variously accused the Government of Edo State of not doing enough in the ongoing battle against the dreaded COVID-19 disease. Ordinarily, we would have ignored the said letter because of the self-evident inaccuracies and outright falsehood, which it conveys. However, considering the enormity of the allegations made and the need to sustain the momentum already created and avoid needless distractions, which your letter attempted to create, we wish to state as follows: 

1. We are amazed that at such a time as this when all efforts are being made to stem the ride of the rampaging pandemic, the Nigerian Medical Association, Edo State Chapter, which should be at the forefront of those efforts is being led by you to issue false, misleading and uncharitable comments by your letter under reference. We also note that while other Associations and Unions are making pledges and physical donations in support of the fight against the pandemic, you are busy dragging the NMA along the path of confrontation.
2. You will recall that at the outset of the ongoing efforts to curtail the disease, Government inaugurated a Task Force on the pandemic with you as member representing the NMA. The essence of your membership of this Task Force was to leverage the expertise of your professional association and those of other stakeholders to achieve success in the fight against the disease. This was also what informed Government's decision to draft you into the Technical Working Committee. iii) You will also recall that as part of this committee, you were part of a Team led by the Deputy Governor, which inspected the sites then being constructed and renovated as Isolation, Holding and Screening Centres. It is on record that during the inspection, you expressed satisfaction about the level of preparedness of the State Government against the pandemic.
3. However, since the committee was inaugurated, and for reasons best known to you, you have neither attended meetings (except once) nor made yourself available for any of the assignments of the committee and all messages sent to invite you via WhatsApp were neither acknowledged nor responded to. Nonetheless, the committee has recorded appreciable success in its preparations against the pandemic and is fully ready to take on its assignment. 
4. Contrary to your claim, measures put in place by Government on social distancing have been largely effective. May we remind you that Government is not a dictatorship and cannot resort to dictatorial means in attempting to enforce its directives as your letter appears to suggest. From inception, the approach of this administration has always been to put the people first and encourage them to comply with lawful directives, hence the decision of Government to embark on massive sensitisation to drive the policy of social distancing. We concede that we have not recorded total compliance, but we are confident that the initiative has been largely successful. 
5. On the issue of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for Doctors and other frontline medical staff raised by you, a simple check would have shown the incorrectness of your claim. The same goes for your allegation on the issue of training and provision for Health care workers where it is on record that we have trained 276 members of your association from the Hospitals Management Board, Primary Health Care Centres and Private Practitioners. Edo State Government has procured and continues to procure thousands of overall gowns, (PPES) face masks and hand gloves and has been constantly supplying all Government Hospitals (both State and Federal) and many Private Health Facilities within Edo State with such equipment. The Government of Edo State has trained health care workers involved in the fight against the pandemic and has also made adequate allowances for them during the period of this assignment. 
6. We advise you to cross check your facts before putting pen to paper. We will also advise that since you have refused to make yourself or your association available to assist in this effort, you should refrain from creating confusion and discouraging others who are committed to it. 
7. On the allegation of non-functionality of the Isolation Centre at the Stella Obasanjo Hospital also raised by you, we wonder what you mean by non-functionality, especially in view of the fact that, as you recently saw for yourself, this facility is ready and fully equipped to receive patients. As a Government, we sincerely hope that we do not have to admit any patient in this hospital as this would signify success in the fight against the pandemic. 
8. We will like to recall and place on record the fact that since your letter under reference, you have, with the Deputy Governor, undertaken a joint inspection of the facilities and equipment available at the different sites in readiness to combat the disease and at this inspection, you expressed surprise at the very impressive arrangement already in place.
9. Having seen the facilities and realised the incorrectness of the claims which your letter conveyed, we had expected you, as a thorough bred professional that we believe you are, to withdraw your letter under reference, but you have failed or refused to do so. 

Inspite of the foregoing, we strongly advise, in the interest of the professional body which you represent and the need to have all hands on Deck in curtailing the pandemic, that you urgently resume your membership at the COVID-19 Committee so that the NMA can play its part in the ongoing public/private partnership at stemming the tide of the pandemic. 

As a State Government, we are confident that we will achieve success in this fight. We will be glad to have your full co-operation in this effort.

Signed:

Osarodion Ogie, Esq.

Secretary to the Government of Edo State. 

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