Lai: We've packaged radio, TV jingles on Coronavirus

Information Minister, Lai Mohammed, has restated Nigeria's readiness towards preventing the spread of Coronavirus.

Nigeria's first case of Coronavirus was reported in Lagos on Thursday, February 27, 2020.

According to the Ministry of Health, an Italian man tested positive to the disease after checks at health facility in Lagos.

Addressing journalists in Abuja on Friday, February 28, 2020, the Minister said part of efforts towards combating the spread of the disease is the distribute of jingles about the disease on radio and television.

"With Coronavirus now in Nigeria, following the first confirmed case, the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture is intensifying its public sensitisation and enlightenment campaign on the disease. The saying, 'information is power' is most apt at this time," he said.

"Media agencies of the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture, like the NTA, FRCN, NAN, VON and NOA, have been directed to intensify their ongoing sensitisation and enlightenment campaign to arm Nigerians with the necessary information to stay well.

"The measures being taken by the agencies include; jingles on radio and television, up-to-date reports on the efforts being made by Nigerian health authorities to ensure proper screening at the nation's gateways and also handle possible cases," he added.

While urging for calm among Nigerians, Mohammed noted that social networking site, Facebook, has pledged to partner with Federal Government to check the spread of fake news and disinformation in the wake of the outbreak of the Coronavirus in Nigeria.

“We know that at times like this, purveyors of fake news and disinformation usually ramp up their acts. We are therefore urging Nigerians not to fall for the antics of purveyors of fakes news and disinformation

“Fortunately, Facebook is working with us in this regard. They have asked Nigerians to report any false or misleading report on Facebook and Instagram pages so they can immediately bring them down.

“They have also assured us that they are taking preemptive action to remove any false or harmful messages about this epidemic and public health in Nigeria 24/7.

All that Nigerians are required to do is to flag any false or misleading report on the epidemic and Facebook will remove any such report,” he said.

The Minister therefore appealed to all Nigerians not to panic, as the Government is well-equipped to detect and handle any possible case or cases.