Bayelsa State Governor, Douye Diri, says he has tested negative for the coronavirus.
His acting chief press secretary, Daniel Alabrah, announced this in a statement on Thursday.
Mr Alabrah said the test result was obtained from the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) accredited laboratory in Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital in Edo.
“The result showed that Diri had no evidence of COVID-19 infection,” he said.
Diri sat next to Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed, during the last National Economic Council (NEC) meeting at the State House, Abuja, on March 19.
Mr Mohammed has since tested positive for the virus.
“Before the governor opted for the test, he had been inundated with phone calls and messages, following speculations on the social media that he may have been infected,” Alabrah said.
The governor, however, expressed appreciation to Nigerians and the people of Bayelsa for their concern, love and good wishes toward him and his family.
Minister of State, Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Ramatu Aliyu, wrote on Twitter on Thursday that she tested negative to the virus.
“Dear compatriots, I am glad to inform you that my results came out this afternoon. I tested negative to #COVID-19,” she wrote.
“Please stay safe and take every precautionary measure as outlined by @NCDC.gov. Together, we are stronger.”
Aliyu said she went into self-isolation since Tuesday evening because she was “in contact with people who tested positive for coronavirus.”
