SAN FRANCISCO, April 5, (THEWILL) – The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and Dettol Nigeria say they have not hired a brand ambassador to promote social distancing and create awareness for their campaign against the deadly coronavirus.
Their denial is on the heels of Sunday’s arrest of Nollywood actress, Funke Akindele, for hosting a birthday party for her husband and violating the coronavirus lockdown order imposed in Lagos State, the epicenter of the disease in Nigeria.
Akindele had featured in a paid media commercial sponsored by the NCDC, Dettol and the Lagos State Office of Sustainable Development Goals and Investments urging people to observe social distancing and good hygiene. However, after videos of the Saturday house party hit the internet, calls for her prosecution and ouster as brand ambassador against COVID-19 raged on social media.
“As an agency of the Federal Government of Nigeria, NCDC has not engaged brand ambassadors as part of our response to #COVID19.
“We continue to emphasise that all Nigerians maintain #socialdistancing to prevent the spread of #COVID19,” the NCDC said in a tweet Sunday.
Dettol also tweeted: “We have been made aware through social media that Funke Akindele recently, acting in her personal capacity, had a celebration which is against the caution to the public on social distancing during the covid-19 pandemic.
“As a responsible organization and brand Dettol does not condone any breach of the guidelines on COVID-19.
“As an organization we are concerned at the turn of events. We will continue to support NCDC and the Nigerian govt to fight COVID-19
“The NCDC partnered with Dettol on a public service message to educate our communities about preventive measures against COVID-19. Funke is not a brand ambassador of the NCDC.”
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