Sydney Talker apologises for lying about COVID-19 symptoms

The social media comedian was called out on social media over the course of several days for prank calling the NCDC, the organization in charge of monitoring Coronavirus cases in Nigeria.

Sydney Talker took to his Twitter page to allege that despite showing Coronavirus symptoms, the NCDC refused to test him. He shared videos in which he could be seen staggering while supposedly going from hospital to hospital in order to be tested.

This led to a trail of criticism from doctors and the general public on social media, who claimed that Sydney was lying about his symptoms. The comedian eventually got tested and the result came back negative.

After this, the criticism intensified as many people called for him to apologize for wasting test kits, for wasting NCDC’s time and for calling their integrity and dedication into question. The hashtag #SydneyNaFraud trended on Twitter.

He has now taken to both Twitter and Instagram to apologize for his actions, stating that he was only being a concerned citizen and was not clout chasing.

He also confirmed that something is indeed wrong with him but he does not know what it is yet. He urged everyone to stay safe as Coronavirus is not a disease one can afford to be infected with.

He shared a thread on Twitter where he broke down his apology. He wrote:

“I have had a chat with Dr Olufunmilayo about this recent issues. I want to say I am sorry to everyone who was hurt by what happened in the last few days. I did not mean to hurt the hardworking health workers and the ncdc or ridicule them.

“I wanted to highlight how govt can do better for citizens and I apologise that it looks like a mockery of health workers. I would now join the fight against Coronavirus with every influence and power that I have. We all need to work to overcome this virus

“And promise to regularly update people about safety measures. If the NCDC allows me, I do not mind to volunteer for a few days to also help out with the good work they are doing.

“I want to also say that nobody should use what I did as an excuse to prank the NCDC. That was not my aim or intention at all. And it will be terrible for anyone to do same. We must all speak against prank calls and I will join Dr Olufunmilayo and others to speak against it.

“Again I’m sorry and I never meant to hurt anyone.”