I Only Made Joke About Coronavirus But Disease Is Real – Gov. Makinde

Oyo state governor, Seyi Makinde has clarified that he doubted that Coronavirus is real even though he made a joke about the dreaded virus.

Makinde had been captured in a video that went viral on social media, saying Coronavirus is not in his party (PDP). He was however diagnosed with the disease a few days after the said rally.

In a telephone interview on Fresh FM on Tuesday March 31, Makinde said he never doubted the existence of Coronavirus even though he joked about it. He added that he used COVID-19 in the same metaphorical way an APC leader did when they were fighting about their chairmanship.

He said; 

“Okay, first, you know we had a rally, I believe two weeks ago and then I have seen the video that has been circulating on social media which is being misinterpreted to mean that, I doubted at any time, the existence of COVID-19. The reality is no, I actually never did. 

“I had used COVID-19 in the same metaphorical way that their APC leader did when they were fighting about their chairmanship and he said, well, the virus has gotten into the party.

“So, I made a joke out of it and the video has been circulating that I said there is no coronavirus, that it only exists in the APC. Well, it was a metaphor.

“But to the good people of Oyo State, I want to say again: COVID-19 is real. So, they must follow all the measures the government has put in place to prevent, contain and control this virus.”

The Governor who is one of the 8 confirmed cases of Coronavirus in Oyo State, stated that they would continue to assess the situation and take measures where necessary.

He added: “Oyo is not going to be locked down because every other state is doing that. Yes, Lagos can be on lockdown, Ogun can be on lockdown, Oyo state, yes, people have been saying have a total lockdown and then I have been asking them questions.

“What will be the benefits here? Are there alternative courses of action for us to take? If you ask people not to come out, you lock down the market places, there are people who what they sell today – the profit from today’s activities is what they will eat tomorrow.

“There are many people like that within our environment. So, are there alternatives available to us? Can we do selective lockdowns? That’s why I imposed the curfew, to say look irin ti o ba ye ka rin.”