Polio: Sultan urges parents to allow children to be immunised

The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar, on Sunday urged parents in the country to allow their children to be fully immunised against polio.
Abubakar gave the advice in Illela, Sokoto State at an emergency stakeholders’ meeting on polio eradication.
He was represented at the meeting by the District Head of Yabo, Alhaji Muhammadu Maiturare.
He said: “All hands must be on deck as we are in the last lap of the fight to eradicate the debilitating disease.
“It is regrettable that only Nigeria, Pakistan and Afghanistan are currently harbouring the polio pandemic.”
The Sultan, however, noted that the efforts of the three tiers of government and the development partners were paying off.
The monarch cited the case of Sokoto State where no single case of polio had been recorded in nearly 20 months.
Abubakar assured parents that the polio vaccine was safe.
He said: “The Northern traditional rulers committee on polio eradication will not relent in its ongoing efforts to wipe out polio.
“We will continue to team up with the three tiers of government and development partners to eradicate the disease.”
The Chairman of Illela Local Government Area, Alhaji Garba Sabon-gari; the Director of Health in the council, Hajiya Amina Jubril; and the Councillor (Health), Alhaji Abubakar Amarawa, all commended the state government.
They said the government’s sustained efforts had ensured the success of the polio eradication campaigns.
The trio also commended the Sultanate Council for not relenting in involving traditional rulers in the campaigns.