Today, the Nigerian Federal Government will hand over the Madagascar COVID-19 cure to the Health Ministry.
This was revealed in a statement by health minister Osagie Ehanire during a Channels Television programme.
Recall that the Presidency had yet to send the samples to the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Test Control for one week after receiving the Madagascan formulation for the treatment of COVID-19.
There have been reports from sources that the drug, which his Guinea Bissau counterpart, Umarro Embalo, delivered to President Buhari ten days ago, has remained in SGF’s possession.
Ehanire said his ministry would take delivery of the drug “on the next working day” when it acknowledged the study
Since the Federal Government has declared public holidays Monday and Tuesday to mark this year’s Eid-el-Fitr, the next working day is Wednesday.
The Minister Said;
“The Madagascar herb is supposed to be handed over to the Ministry of Health on the next working day.
“That’s when we will pick it up and then send to our research institutes, first of course to NAFDAC and then to the Nigeria Institute of Pharmaceutical Research and Development to look into it and tell us what it is.”
The SGF had, at the daily COVID-19 briefing last Tuesday said he had received the consignment of Madagascar’s drug and that it would be sent to the ministry of health.
“I am going to engage the minister of health who has the responsibility of validation, through his institutions that are chartered by law to do that. The President was upfront with that even when he took delivery of it from the President of Guinea Bissau,” Mustapha had said.
