There has been no case of the coronavirus pandemic also known as COVID-19 in Bonny Local Government Area. The General Hospital, Bonny has also been designated as an Isolation Centre.

Chairman of Bonny LGA, David Irimagha, alongside the representatives of Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), Dr Increase Orawari, and Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG), Godson Dienye, respectively, gave this clarification today in Bonny during a meeting stakeholders in the area.

According to them, it was counterproductive and against the spirit of the season to carry unfounded rumours to create panic in the society, saying that all alleged cases of infection were investigated and found to be untrue.

Irimagha, who met with stakeholders in the area to fashion out ways to ensure that the coronavirus does not enter the island LGA, said the General Hospital, Bonny will be supported to provide screening and isolation services to members of the public should there be an outbreak of the pandemic in the area.

“Some days ago, we had a very worrisome information that someone came in from China. I had to follow up that case and found that there was no truth in that information. The first doubt I had was that the said man had been in the island for 14 days and he is alive. Ordinarily, it means he is not even having the virus but we went further to do further verifications and we had to come out publicly and see how to put that at rest.”

“We should avoid taking information that we are not sure of out, just to create panic in the island. I receive several calls from Government House and from different quarters asking to know what is happening. Our people should know that we don’t have such a case.”  

On his part, the Community Relations Coordinator of NLNG, Godson Dienye debunked insinuations that there was a case of COVID-19 in the NLNG Residential Area in Bonny, explaining that three staff of the company who travelled to Italy upon their return self-quarantined themselves and after the 14 days were screened and tested negative.

“On the issue of corona being in RA, I find that surprising because we have seen all the social media posts. Yesterday we sent out a press release that there is no corona virus in the RA. This morning we have also sent out another release communicating to our own staff that there is no such case.”

“There are procedures which the government has spelt out. Anybody who has travelled from anywhere, where you have those cases, as you come in you quarantine yourself. That is the normal procedure. We have cases of our own staff who went to Italy, about three of them who are in Port Harcourt. As they came back they knew what to do. They went and quarantined themselves until the 14 days were over. Luckily enough, none of them had corona virus.”

He praise the Local Government Chairman “for taking this initiative to set up this committee” and rallying “individuals, stakeholders, companies and everybody together” as a common front against the menace of COVID-19, assuring that “NLNG, as a responsible body, would normally obey government rules. We can assure that whatever directives that come from government will naturally be obeyed. As I speak, a few clarifications are being sought from the government and once we get those clarifications we will naturally obey what the Governor has said”.

He urged everyone to take personal responsibility for staying safe from being infected with the virus, stressing that “I don’t want us to delude ourselves in thinking that somebody will care more for us that ourselves. So, everyone of us needs to take individual action to protect ourselves”.

Speaking, Community Liaison Officer (CLO) of SPDC, Bonny, Dr Increase Orawari also disclaimed rumours that a certain Caucasian tested positive to COVID-19 and was secretly flown out of the SPDC Terminal in Bonny, pointing out that there was no such case or even any case of anyone falling ill in the terminal.   

“The invitation came with an enquiry as regards what is going on in our terminal whether we somebody who had corona who was secretly flown out. A text message, as a matter of fact, came to me a day or two before you even called. I was so shocked to hear that because this is not a season for imaging making, we are talking health, we are talking life.”

“So, if there was anybody who had corona at our terminal or any of our facilities around here, especially, you would have known before we found out. We would have told you because it is not about maintaining a corporate image. Yes, we will try to manage information but in this particular instance, there is nothing to manage. We don’t have any incidence of anyone who fell ill or took ill as result of coronavirus. As a matter of fact, we don’t have anyone who was even ill who was flown out.”

He advised the people of the area to suspend their usual day-to-day practices in order to stay safe, urging them to cooperate with the government and all other stakeholders to ensure that the island community was safe from the virus.

“We have made all the plans to keep ourselves secure, we have made peripheral plans, what about the internal plans? What are the things we can let go for now? We must take into consideration that our attitude will make a difference in all of this.”

“If we continue to shake hands, if we continue to accept hugs and just ahead to do our normal things with sharing cups, passing bottles from hand to hand – we have put all the barricades around us but we have created a new problem within.”

“So, I want to re-emphasise that there is no such case of anyone who was secretly flown to anywhere. There is no one who is even sick right now at the terminal. Our hospital is empty.”    

Also speaking, the Commanding Officer of the Forward Operating Base (FOB), Nigeria Navy, Bonny, Navy Capt. Tahir Stanley Ngada, represented by Sub. Lt. Philip Ojediran informed that, in compliance with the national emergency contingency plan and the Rivers State Governor’s directive, there was ongoing restriction of incoming and outgoing vessels and personnel along the Bonny waterways.

The Bonny LG boss, accompanied by his Vice, Anengi Barasua, Secretary to the Local Government Council, Omoni Longjohn, and the Special Adviser on Environment, Prince Oko-Jumbo, visited the general Hospital to assess the state of the facility. 

The meeting was attended by the Divisional Police Officers of Bonny, CSP Shu’aib Achigili, and Finima, CSP Bashir Kontagora, and representatives of other security agencies in Bonny LGA, health officials, executives of the Bonny Marine transport Association (BMTA) and Bonny Boat Drivers Union, Bonny Seafarers Union, bus and commercial motorcycles sections of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN), and Commercial Tricycle Operators, among others.