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Cholera outbreak: FG urges Nigerians to avoid locally prepared zobo, fura
The Federal Government has called on Nigerians to avoid locally made drinks such as kunu, zobo and fura to prevent cholera disease.
It also urged the public to be more vigilant and to imbibe good sanitation and hygiene practices at home and in their workplace.
The Minister of State for Environment, Iziaq Salako, gave the directive in a statement on Monday in Abuja.
Salako further tasked all and sundry with preventive measures such as keeping their environment clean always and disposing of waste properly at designated places.
He said, “Ensure the use of clean and safe water. Water from suspicious sources should be well boiled or treated by adding one pack of chlorine solution to 100 parts.
“Avoid locally prepared drinks like kunu, zobo, fura da nono, koko, fruit juice among others except it is certain that the preparation was done in a hygienic and safe manner.
“Wash hands regularly with soap under running water, especially after using the toilet, cleaning a child who has gone to the toilet, before preparing food, before and after eating, and after playing with animals, ” he said.
He also called on States and Local Governments to increase environmental health surveillance in places where food and drinks are sold nationwide.
These places include markets, garages, schools, restaurants, stadia, religious and sporting event venues.
Salako noted that the measures would help avert the further spread and transmission of cholera and aid in the prevention and control of the disease.
He also urged all Commissioners for Environment and the Local Government Chairpersons to support environmental health officers to step up sanitation and hygiene activities through enhanced community-led total sanitation.
He said it is also to strengthen collaboration with the health authorities and other stakeholders in line with the one health approach of the federal government.
He added that arrangements had been made to support most affected states with chlorine solution or tablets, water and food testing resources to avert further transmission across the country.
Salako noted that a recent situation report from the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) indicated a total number of 1,159 suspected cases, 65 confirmed cases and 30 deaths across 30 States.
He stated that the most affected states contributing 90 per cent of the total cases include Bayelsa, Lagos, Zamfara, Abia, Bauchi, Cross River, Ebonyi, Delta and Katsina
“The ministry has been actively involved through the Department of Pollution Control and Environmental Health Council of Nigeria (EHCON) in activities to curtail further transmission of the deadly disease.
“The ministry has been involved through water and food testing to identify sources of infection, environmental sanitation campaigns and household water chlorination,” he said.
He explained that cholera is a poor sanitation and hygiene-driven disease and an acute diarrhoea infection caused by ingestion of unwholesome food or water contaminated with the bacterium Vibrio cholerae.
Salako said that the disease remained a global threat to public health, affecting both children and adults and could lead to death if untreated promptly.
He further identified it as an extremely virulent disease that takes 12 hours and five days for its symptoms to manifest.
“The common early symptoms are frequent watery stool that is usually milky white in colour, nausea and vomiting. Cholera outbreak is a seasonal public health event in Nigeria, occurring annually mostly during the rainy season and often in areas with poor sanitation and hygiene practices.
“Extreme climate events like flooding are also contributing in multiple ways to drive the outbreak of the disease. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has confirmed the global resurgence of cases of cholera classifying the current outbreak as a “grade three public health emergency”, requiring maximal WHO system-wide response.
“Nigeria is one of the 14 countries in Africa where the resurgence is being experienced,” he said.
News
Tinubu swears in seven ministers (Photos)
President Bola Tinubu has sworn in seven ministers-designates.
The ceremony was held in the council chamber of the Aso Rock villa on Monday.
The ministers-designate were confirmed by the senate in the committee of the whole after a screening exercise last week.
The senators spent hours asking them questions on portfolios assigned to them by the president.
The upper legislative chamber confirmed Nentawe Yilwatda as minister of humanitarian affairs and poverty alleviation, Muhammadu Maigari Dingyadi as minister of labour and employment, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu as minister of state for foreign affairs, and Yusuf Abdullahi Ata as minister of state for housing and urban development.
Others are Idi Mukhtar Maiha as minister of livestock development, Jumoke Oduwole as minister of trade and investment, and Suwaiba Said Ahmad as the minister of state for education.
News
Appeal Court acquits ex-CJN, Onnoghen, orders FG to unfreeze his account
The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja, on Monday, discharged and acquitted a former Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, Justice Walter Onnoghen, of the charge that led to his removal from office in 2019.
It will be recalled that former President Muhammadu Buhari had on January 25, 2019, about 29 days before the presidential election, suspended Onnoghen from office as the CJN and swore in the next most senior jurist of the Supreme Court, Justice Tanko Muhammad, to take over the leadership of the judiciary.
Onnoghen’s suspension came barely eight hours after he announced his decision to inaugurate judges who would preside over election petition tribunals.
Ex-President Buhari’s action elicited varied reactions from both within and outside the judicial circles, with the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, describing it as a coup against the judiciary.
Onnoghen was later convicted by the Code of Conduct Tribunal, CCT, on a six-count corruption charge that was preferred against him by the Federal Government.
It was alleged that he made a false declaration to the Code of Conduct Bureau.
Meantime, about six years after he was convicted, a three-man panel of the Court of Appeal, led by Justice Mohammed Bello, acquitted the ex-CJN following a settlement agreement the federal government entered with him.
President Bola Tinubu had, through the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, persuaded the appellate court to halt further hearing of three separate appeals the former CJN filed to challenge his removal, conviction, and seizure of his assets.
In line with the terms of the settlement dated October 24, the appellate court ordered FG to, forthwith, unfreeze Onnoghen’s account with Standard Chartered Bank Nigeria Limited.
News
Fire destroys shops, goods worth millions in Ajah market
The Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) on Monday said a market in the Ajah area of the state was engulfed by fire, destroying shops and goods worth millions of naira.
The agency’s Permanent Secretary, Dr Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, confirmed this in a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos. Oke-Osanyintolu said the fire incident happened late Sunday night at Ajah Market by Alesh bus stop in Lekki, Lagos.
“LASEMA in response to distress calls from the 767 and112 toll-free lines at 09:30hrs, activated its Emergency Response Team from Lekki Base.
“On arrival at the incident scene at 22:10hrs, it was discovered that several shops and stores housing combustible materials were engulfed by fire.
“Investigations conducted revealed that the immediate cause of the fire could not yet be ascertained as at the time of writing this report.
“Fortunately, no casualties or injuries were recorded at the incident scene,” he said.
He said properties worth a fortune were destroyed in the inferno. He added that the agency and the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service were able to curtail the fire from escalating to adjoining buildings.
“While fighting the fire, we were simultaneously trying to manage the hostile crowd as the two are the only primary responders at the incident scene.
“The fire has been successfully extinguished by the emergency responders at the incident scene and operation concluded,” he added.
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