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Lai Mohammed, the Minister of Information and Culture, has denied that he has tested positive for COVID-19.
Despite allegations that certain presidential aides have been infected with the virus, the minister maintained that he has not been isolated or treated for the illness.
“For the record, the minister does not have COVID-19,” his media aide Segun Adeyemi stated in a statement on Sunday.
“That story, which was first published by an online site before being taken up by some prominent lapdog media, exemplifies the difficult war we’re fighting against fake news and misinformation.”
“When in doubt, leave it out, states a journalism mantra.The core principles of truthfulness and accuracy, among others, are also enshrined in the journalistic code of ethics. Those standards were not met by the report in question.”
Mohammed was present at the Federal Executive Council meeting on Wednesday, a special FEC meeting on Thursday, and the swearing-in of the Minister of State for Works and Housing on Friday, according to Adeyemi.
He explained that his principal coordinated the post-FEC press briefing on Wednesday and Thursday, wondering how he could have performed such a task from an isolation centre.
The minister’s spokesman said as a member of the Presidential Steering Committee on COVID-19, Mohammed would not have hesitated to publicly announce his COVID-19 status if he was infected.
“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,” Adeyemi said. “For those who contract the virus, they deserve our empathy and prayers, not stigmatisation.
“In the best tradition of journalism, we expect the online newspaper behind this fake news not only to retract the publication but also to apologise to the minister for causing him such embarrassment, especially in a season of joy.”
