National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and former governor of Lagos State, Senator Bola Tinubu on Monday confirmed his late Chief Security Officer, Alhaji Lateef Raheem, tested positive for COVID-19.
Raheem died last Friday.
Mourning him on his twitter handle, Tinubu had said “his unexpected death apparently was due to complications from diabetes and high blood pressure.”
However, a statement from his media office on Monday said a precautionary test on samples from his body, returned positive, for the virus.
Another unnamed aide, according to the release signed by Mr Tunde Rahman, also tested positive for coronavirus in a wide-range test conducted by the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), on Tinubu, his wife, Senator Oluremi Tinubu and their aides.
The politician, his wife and the rest of the aides, reportedly tested negative.
Relatives and others who have had contacts with the infected aide are reportedly being traced.
“Following the death of our well-respected and beloved Chief Security Officer, Alhaji Lateef Raheem, NCDC medics took the wise precaution of taking samples from his body for testing, to actually determine the cause of death. Today, the test results are back. The samples tested positive for COVID-19.
“As a precautionary measure taken soon after the death of Alhaji Raheem, His Excellency Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, his wife, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, and all their aides took COVID-19 tests Saturday, April 25. The results of the tests were returned this morning. Test results for both Asiwaju and Senator Tinubu were negative.
“The results of one aide were positive. The rest of the staff was negative. The one staff member has been isolated in accordance with NCDC guidelines. Further contact tracing and COVID-19 tests are being conducted by the NCDC with regard to the relatives and possible contacts of that staff member” the statement read in part.
Preaching against stigmatisation, the ruling party stalwart encouraged openness and transparency in dealing with the scourge, saying “openness and transparency must be observed if we are to defeat this disease. There is no house immune to its entry. Contracting the virus should not bring social or moral stigma any more than contracting malaria or a common cold.”
Campaigning for awareness, he noted that “COVID-19 is a real and present threat. Those of us who discount it or claim it is a fabrication do a grave and dangerous disservice to the public well-being. Likewise, those who stigmatise people who may have been stricken by the virus also do a disservice by casting blame on the innocent and discouraging people from taking the COVID test. We cannot defeat this health menace through ignorance or by shaming one another. We can only beat it through transparency, knowledge and compassion. This, we have learned first-hand.
“We cannot overcome this challenge by acting like it does not exist or by trying to conceal that someone may have it due to social shame. The culture of denial is counterproductive and will do great harm in our current situation.”
In his message of hope to the people, the statement quoted him as saying, “Asiwaju asks that you not be afraid to be tested if you have any symptoms or if you believe you may have come in contact with someone who has been infected. We must do all we can to contain the spread of the virus and to well treat those of us who have been hit by it.
“As you go about your day, we know you must find daily sustenance. Yet, please continue to do all you can to maintain social distance and to take all other public health measures to protect yourself and others. In this way, we all may contribute to halt the spread of this dangerous virus.”
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