THE National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has dismissed the rumours and posts being peddled in some social media outlets claiming that the agency had spent N1 billion on the Short Message Service (SMS) strategy in the fight to curb the spread of the dreadful coronavirus in the country.
In a statement by the agency following enquiries over the claims, NCDC through its tweeter account deflated the allegations that it is totally false with no iota of truth in it but handiwork of mischievous and disgruntled elements.
The agency explained that the SMS has been provided in solidarity by Airtel Nigeria, MTN Nigeria and GloWorld, and therefore advised the public to disregard such false claims by some persons for selfish motives.
“The headlines claiming that NCDC has spent N1 billion on SMS to Nigerians is false.
“While communication through SMS is a key part of our Covid-19 response strategy, this has been largely provided as in-kind support by Airtel Nigeria, MTN Nigeria and GloWorld”, the agency tweeted.
