Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, has said it was a shame that the state recorded 50 per cent of the new polio cases in Nigeria, saying he would deploy necessary resources to fight the virus.
AbdulRazaq said this on Tuesday during the flag-off of polio outbreak response activities.
“It is a shame that Kwara has 50 per cent of the new outbreak. We shouldn’t be dealing with fresh polio in this state now. But we will give the necessary supports to put an end to that,” he said.
The governor decried the negligence of the previous administration in supporting routine polio immunisation programme.
AbdulRazaq, who commended various global agencies for their support, urged parents and other stakeholders to key into the vaccination of under-five children to halt the spread of the deadly virus.
“I call on Kwarans to join hands with our partners to interrupt the transmission of the Poliovirus in Kwara State and Nigeria at large,” he said.
“I am appealing to all mothers, caregivers, heads of households, religious bodies, markets and schools to as a matter of necessity make all children under 5years of age available for the vaccination exercise, irrespective of their previous vaccination status as the campaign will be conducted as many times as possible.
“It is highly unacceptable and inexcusable for any Parent, Care Giver or Government to watch our future generation being paralysed from a vaccine-preventable disease like Polio.”
Incident Manager of the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency, Usman Adamu, hailed AbdulRazaq for helping to revive the immunisation programme in Kwara after five years.
The event was attended by former military administrator of Osun State, Theophilus Bamigboye; Deputy Speaker of the Kwara State House of Assembly, Raphael Adetiba; and Secretary to the Kwara State Government, Dr Mamman Saba Jubril.
Others were representatives of the World Health Organisation (WHO); Rotary International; United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF); and several other donor agencies.
