By YSO Olaniyi
Controversies surrounding the exact location where a scary figure of about 57 cases of Coronavirus infection was recorded in Ibadan few days ago may have finally been laid to rest as a private company has taken to the press to own up and also douse tension generated by the development among residents of the state.
A corporate organisation located Southwest Local Government Area of Oyo State, on Tuesday, revealed itself as being the company which identity had been hitherto concealed by the state government following the series of announcement detailing how about 57 of its staff have, so far, been tested to COVID-19.
iSON Xperiences, a leading customer experience provider, came out today to clarify issues on some controversies which had greeted the development. The company with a presence in 15 countries across Africa employing over 10,000 people, revealed that some of its employees tested positive for COVID-19 in one of its centres in Ibadan, Oyo State.
In a statement, the management of the firm stated that those employees with suspected risks have undergone the necessary test and are now in isolation under the supervision of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).
Part of the statement reads: “We operate Contact Centres and Customer Care processes from two Centres in Ibadan and one in Ilorin for leading Telecom Service Providers in Nigeria. iSON has implemented strict Covid-19 pandemic preventive measures including social distancing norms, Covid-19 awareness campaigns for employees, mandatory use of sanitizer and masks, temperature checks, general health check at the in-house clinic based on WHO guidelines.
“We have ensured Contact Centre services are available on a 24/7 basis with additional Work from Home Customer Service Advisors activated and maintained ‘Business as Usual’ for us as well as for our Customers”
“Important points with regards to our Nigeria operations – we have some of our employees who were detected positive for Covid-19 at one of our Centres in Ibadan.
“Employees with suspected risks have undergone the necessary test and placed in isolation under the supervision of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC). Together with the authorities, we will ensure the full return of our employees to good health for their eventual resumption back at work.
“As of now, our office premise is temporarily closed for thorough disinfection. We are focused on providing services in a safe and healthy environment, and taking the necessary proactive measures to minimize the spread of COVID-19 virus”
The iSON Xperiences’ statement is coming 24hrs after Pacesetter News leaked the internal memo of the company.
In a follow up to the Pacesetter News report and the mounting pressures from the residents of Oyo State, Governor Makinde on Monday said the identity of the company in the Southwest Local Government Area of the state will be unveiled today (Tuesday).
According to the Governor, “we have held back from revealing the name of the company so as to allow the Emergency Operations Centre gather intelligence and complete their investigation. So, they will be done by tomorrow (Tuesday) and we will be able to give you that information so that any person who has visited the company recently will be able to present themselves for testing”.
As at the time of filing this report, the Oyo State Government was still hiding the identity of the said company even as members of the public heightened their fear over the development.
