Governor of Bauchi State, Bala Mohammed, has authorised the use of chloroquine for the treatment of COVID-19.
Mohammed, who was the COVID-19 index case in the state, said he was treated with “chloroquine and Zithromax.”
The governor, who disclosed this while at Government House, Bauchi, while providing an update on COVID-19, said he would take responsibility for any consequences of approving the drugs.
“Our medical team is using their own ingenuity to use chloroquine and zithromax to treat patients, even though in some places, they said it is against the protocol. As the governor, I am taking responsibility for that because I don’t want anyone to die,” he said.
Addressing health officials directly, Mohammed said: “I have given you the directive that you must use something that I have used to get well, just as you have used for all other cases that got well.
“Rather than saying that something is harmful, we should not follow what the white people are saying by not taking anything and die. We are used to taking chloroquine in Nigeria. We are going to use them. We have taken responsibility and I have taken responsibility. Zithromax and chloroquine are not harmful to our body, our physiological system has adapted to it. If you are having a fever you take chloroquine.”
The governor called on the Inspector General of Police to enforce strict compliance to border closure to curtail the spread of coronavirus.
He said enforcement of border lockdown by the police would prevent the spread of the virus to other states.
He made the appeal during an interactive session with journalists on Wednesday evening at Banquet Hall, Government House, Bauchi.
