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General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has questioned the locus of Information Minister, Kojo Oppong-Nkrumah, who is urging the public not to discredit the work of medical experts leading the fight against coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Johnson Asiedu Nketia said he [Kojo] leading the communication of a specialised medical team is problematic.

“Kojo Oppong-Nkrumah telling us not to discredit medical experts; Are you [Kojo] a surgeon?” he stated while reacting to the issue on Asempa FM Tuesday.

Mr Oppong-Nkrumah made the call to clarify some controversies over the national testing capacity and projection figures for pre-peak scenarios.

Many, including social and political commentators, have accused the government of massaging the figures for political points.

But Mr Oppong-Nkrumah said these experts, including professors; virologists, epidemiologists, laboratory technicians, clinicians, among others, deserve encouragement and support instead of condemnation.

The Information Minister added that, casting a slur on the reputation of these individuals and their institutions is harmful to their reputation and the national image.


However, Mr Nketia vehemently disagreed with Mr Oppong-Nkrumah’s position arguing that, they have the right to ask questions to clear their doubts. He stressed that, the controversy about the testing is self-inflicted since the person leading the government’s communication is not a medical expert.

General Mosquito, as he is popularly called, advised the government to replace Mr Oppong- Nkrumah with a medical expert if they want the public to believe the information about COVID-19.