I Almost Died of COVID-19, Says FCT Minister

Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Malam Muhammad Musa Bello has said he nearly lost his life to the dreaded COVID-19 when he was quarantined for three weeks after testing positive to the disease at the end of last year.

He recounted his sordid experience over the weekend after taking a COVID-19 booster jab.
The minister confessed that he only survived the scare because he had taken two doses of the vaccines.

“Although I was not hospitalised, I was quarantined in my residence for three weeks because subsequently, even after taking the medication, I tested positive twice. It was the third time that I got a negative result. If I had not taken the first and second doses, probably what has happened to many of my dear ones would have happened to me,” he admitted.

The minister recounted bout of headaches, sore throat, pains in the joints and general fatigue, while he fought the virus which also necessitated the change of the course of his medicine after the first 10 days.

“For three weeks, I was not productive. I didn’t go out of the house, I never had a chance to do my work and the multiplier effect was tremendous because even now, I’m just trying to cope, to clear all those files that I was not able to handle when I was under quarantine,” he said.

He made a case for all FCT residents to be vaccinated, while advising those who have taken the first and second doses to go for the booster.
The minister said he would take all the recommended shots, “because I don’t want to go through what I went through again”.

He thanked the federal government for ensuring the availability of the vaccines for Nigerians, while urging residents to get vaccinated as vaccines can truly save lives.

Also, the Secretary for Health and Human Services of the FCTA, Dr. Abubakar Tafida said that a total of 433,000 people in the FCT have taken the first dose and 286,000 the second dose. He said about 12,000 people have taken the booster shot.