The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has denied claims that it spent N1 billion on SMS to Nigerians as the country battles COVID-19.
In a tweet on its official handle, the NCDC admitted that while SMS is part of the COVID-19 response strategy, the agency described the claims as false.
“The headline claiming that NCDC has spent N1 billion on SMS to Nigerians is FALSE,” the NCDC tweeted.
“While communication through SMS is a key part of our #COVID19 response strategy, this has been largely provided as in-kind support by @AirtelNigeria, @MTNNG, @GloWorld.”
On Wednesday evening, the NCDC had confirmed 22 new cases of the COVID-19 in Nigeria, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 276.
According to the NCDC, 15 are in Lagos, four are in the FCT, two are in Bauchi, while the other is in Edo.