Kwara sacks driver, queries officials over handling of COVID-19 evacuation

Governor AbdulRahman Abdulrazaq of Kwara State has ordered the immediate sack of a driver in the employment of the state government.

He was sacked for allegedly unilaterally attending to an unkempt person who was evacuated with a COVID-19 ambulance in Ilorin.

The governor also directed that query be given to top officials of the state Ministry of Health for not acting with necessary caution and expertise in the handling of the incident.

The video of the incident went viral on social media.

This was disclosed in a statement by the governor’s spokesman, Rafiu Ajakaye on Wednesday in Ilorin.

He stated: “The governor totally condemns the shoddy handling of the gentleman who was clearly going through a hard time.

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“He has directed that the driver be fired immediately. As the investigation revealed, the driver failed to heed clear directive not to take any action until the Rapid Response Team (RRT) arrives the scene. He evacuated the gentleman with the help of members of the public without waiting for the arrival of the RRT.”

The governor further directed that members of the RRT be queried, while other steps would be taken to ensure this incident did not repeat itself.

“Involving just anybody in the evacuation of a suspected case, as was seen in the footage, was a clear and dangerous violation of COVID-19 safety protocols. The government equally finds it quite distasteful and unacceptable that the driver, who had long been involved in such operations, made unethical comments to somebody in distress.

“That incident was avoidable, and we sincerely apologise to the gentleman and to the people of Kwara State for the embarrassing development. We assure them this will not happen again”, Ajakaye said.

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