Minister Of Information And Culture Does Not Have Covid-19, Says Aide

The office of the Honourable Minister of Information
and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has reacted 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.

A statement signed by
Segun Adeyemi
Special Assistant To The President (Media)
Office of the Minister of Information and Culture
Lagos, on Sunday said: “For the record, the Minister does not have Covid-19, hence he is
neither in isolation nor receiving treatment anywhere.”

According to the statement, “that report, which was first published by an online newspaper and then
latched on to by some mainstream lapdog media, once again highlights
the uphill task we face in our campaign to stamp out fake news and
misinformation.”

Adding: “A journalism mantra says ‘when in doubt, leave it out’. Also embedded
in the code of ethics for journalists are the basic principles of
truthfulness and accuracy, among others. The report in question did not meet those standards.

“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?”

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“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,” the statement added.

“The media does itself a great disservice by making ‘exclusive news’
out of beer parlor gist. Sooner or later, the truth will come out and
a fake-news-peddling-organization will have its credibility dented for
good.

“In the best tradition of journalism, we expect the online newspaper
behind this fake 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,” the statement said.