The Presidency has slammed Popular Nigerian artist, Zlatan Ibile, for making a joke of the new update on coronavirus cases in the country.
The Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC) had on Sunday taken to its Twitter page to announce the latest update on the cases of coronavirus in the country.
It didn’t take long before Zlatan retweeted the update on his page, where he appeared to have made a mockery of the development with several laughing emojis.
— #WorldPresident 🌎 (@Zlatan_Ibile) April 19, 2020
His response caught the attention of many including Bashir Ahmad, the Personal Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on New Media, who cautioned the singer against making jokes of the COVID-19 update.
He wrote: “Zlatan, as President Buhari stated in his national broadcast on April 13th, ‘this is not a joke, it’s a matter of life and death.”
Zlatan, as President Buhari stated in his national broadcast on April 13th, ‘this is not a joke, it’s a matter of life and death.’ https://t.co/P1IpHfz7ax
— Bashir Ahmad (@BashirAhmaad) April 20, 2020
Ahmad’s response to the singer received mixed reactions from Nigerians on Twitter, but he responded saying he replied to Zlatan’s tweet because of his status as a celebrity who commands a large following on social media.
He said: “I can see some people are angry with my reply to Zlatan’s tweet, which he made a joke out of NCDC’s last night update on #COVID19Nigeria. I didn’t reply him as Zlatan, I replied him as a celebrity, who has hundreds of followers. Again, ‘this whole #COVID19 issue is not a joke.”
I can see some people are angry with my reply to Zlatan’s tweet, which he made a joke out of NCDC’s last night update on #COVID19Nigeria. I didn’t reply him as Zlatan, I replied him as a celebrity, who has hundreds of followers. Again, ‘this whole #COVID19 issue is not a joke.’ pic.twitter.com/qgA8aI2gdB
— Bashir Ahmad (@BashirAhmaad) April 20, 2020
Meanwhile, KanyiDaily had reported that Nigerian artiste, Slimcase believe that all the fuss surrounding the coronavirus disease is a scam.
According to him, coronavirus is just a malaria lung flu that will self-cure after two weeks without any serious treatment.