A former Vice President of Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar, has revealed that his son has tested positive for the coronavirus. READ ALSO: Coronavirus: Lagos Orders Civil Servant To Stay At Home
Atiku, disclosing this in a tweet on his verified Twitter handle on Sunday night did not mention which of his sons was infected but revealed that the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, NCDC, has been duly informed about the situation and that his son had been moved to the Gwagwalada Specialist Hospital in Abuja for treatment.
Calling for prayers for his son and urging Nigerians to stay safe Atiku, the flagbearer of the Peoples Democratic Party during the 2019 Presidential elections, seized the development to warn Nigerians as he stated: “Coronavirus is real.”
Prior to his announcement, the 73-year-old politician had tweeted his support and praise for the health workers battling the pandemic, which has infected thousands across the world, claiming more than 12,000 lives and forcing almost a billion people to stay indoors as governments move to tackle its spread.
He tweeted: “I join millions of other Nigerians to celebrate our health workers for their courageous work at this challenging time, and I urge all Nigerians to remain strong while we fight the scourge of this #COVIDー19 to the end.”
Atiku’s announcement comes about 24 hours after the NCDC announced eight new cases of coronavirus, taking the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 30.
Of the eight cases announced on Sunday, six were in Lagos, one was in Oyo State and one in the federal capital territory, Abuja.
According to reports is not clear if the case confirmed in Abuja on Sunday is Abubakar’s son or whether he represents a fresh case.
The last update provided by the NCDC is that there have been a total of 30 confirmed cases in the country; twenty-two of which were in Lagos State, four in Abuja, two in Ogun State, one in Ekiti State and one in Oyo State.
