Scare in Reps, Gbajabiamila direct sick members to stay away from plenary

Ndubuisi Orji,  Abuja

As anxiety continue  to mount over the spread of COVID-19 nationwide,  Speaker of the House of Representatives,  Femi  Gbajabiamila has requested members of the House,  who are sick  to stay away from  plenary.

Gbajabiamila, who gave the directive at the end of yesterday’s plenary,  said it was for the good of every member of the House in particular and the National Assembly  in general.

The directive is coming  on the heels  of the death of a member of the Nasarawa  House of Assembly from COVID-19 infection. He said the directive applies to himself, his deputy, Idris  Wase,  other  principal  officers  and every member  of the House.

Wase,  while  elaborating on the directive,  said it has come  to the knowledge of the leadership of the House  that a member  of the Green chamber drove  someone to Abuja recently and that the person has tested positive for the coronavirus disease.

However, the deputy  speaker, did not mention  the name  of the House member or the state or the constituency he or she represents.

Meanwhile,  the House, yesterday,  grilled  the chairman of the Presidential  Task Force(PTF) on COVID -19 pandemic and Secretary to the Government of the Federation,  Boss  Mustapha and other members of the task force on the management of the pandemic  in the country.

Mustapha, while addressing lawmakers, said the PTF have developed a multi-sectoral  approach  in combating the pandemic. He said there has been high level engagement “with the organised private sector for better coordination of their core competencies and expertise and mobilisation of the states and Local Government areas in the fight  against the pandemic.”