Wike sacks official over news on Coronavirus

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Wike sacks official over news on Coronavirus

The Rivers State government has sacked the General Manager of the state-owned Newspaper Corporation, Vincent Ake.

Ake’s dismissal is contained in a statement by the state Commissioner for Information and Communication, Paulinus Nsirim.

NSIRIM directed the sacked GM to handover to the most senior officer at the Tide.

No reason was given for the sack of Vincent Ake but one of the Editors of the state-owned media organization said the GM was sacked for publishing report on the first case of COVID-19 in Rivers State without first getting approval from the Taskforce on Coronavirus set by the state government.

The Editor who pleaded anonymity told DAIYL POST that, “The Governor is not happy that the GM published what was reported by the NCDC without getting approval from the taskforce.

“Chief Ake was one of the most vibrant GMs we have ever had. His sack is unfortunate. We are not happy.”

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) Thursday confirmed five new cases of coronavirus in the country.

NCDC in its tweet, said Rivers State recorded its first case of the virus, while the FCT and Lagos account for two new cases each.

This brings to 51 the number of confirmed cases in the country with Lagos still accounting for the highest number, 32, followed by the FCT which has 10.