The Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) in Kwara state has called for stiffer punishment for the state’s commissioner for Health, Dr Raji Rasaq over the alleged poor handling of a suspect COVID-19 case in Ilorin, the state capital.
The major opposition party also punctured the decision of Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq to order the sacking a government driver that attended to a person evacuated with a COVID-19 ambulance in Ilorin.
The PDP in a statement by its state publicity secretary, Tunde Ashaolu, said the governor erred in ordering the sacking of the innocent driver, who was only acting on instructions of his superior.
It added: “Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq erred in directing the sacking of the innocent and ignorant driver, who obviously acted on the instructions of his superior(s). There is, therefore, no genuine justification for terminating his job.
“The Kwara PDP notes that the driver was simply used by the state government as a sacrificial lamb to deflect criticism about its ineptitude, failure and irresponsibility. We therefore demand that the governor takes responsibility for the avoidable embarrassing incident that has turned Kwara into a laughingstock.
“While we welcome the suspension of the permanent secretary of the state’s ministry of Health, we believe this isn’t enough. The commissioner who oversees the ministry that failed to provide the needed orientation, training and protective equipment to its staff, should also be held to account.
“It is worrisome that a government that claimed to have invested over N8billion on the health sector failed to provide the required training and protective tools to its staff, which makes them vulnerable to danger.”
