• Says 280 vaccinated without adverse reaction
• Orders refund to job seekers, debunks scam allegation
The Ekiti State government has allayed fears that the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine being administered on people could manifest adverse reaction, saying that the 280 persons vaccinated in the state showed no adverse effect.
The government also revealed that 50,000 persons would be vaccinated in the first phase of the exercise, with frontline medical and public officers benefiting first before moving to the local level.
Senior Special Assistant on Public Health to the Governor, Dr. Jimlas Ogunsakin, while speaking with journalists in Ado-Ekiti, yesterday, said part of the vaccines had been deployed to local councils for administration on selected citizens.
Ogunsakin said the state government had ordered that part of the doses brought should be taken to the local council level, saying the immunisation at the third tier will begin on March 22, 2021.
IN another development, the state government has directed the immediate refund of money paid by successful candidates in the recruitment exercise conducted by the State Teaching Service Commission (TESCOM).
The monies were paid by the candidates for the purchase of the teaching service manual, service record and job cards, among others.
Chairman of TESCOM, Mr. Babatunde Abegunde, who made this known in Ado Ekiti, said that the directive was borne out of the commitment of the governor to the welfare of the people in the state.
Abegunde said that the state government was very fair and sincere in the recruitment exercise, adding that unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic and the attendant economic downturn, as well as the EndSARS protest, stalled the process.
The TESCOM chairman said that letters of appointment would have been issued immediately after documentation but was possible because of the current economic limitations of the state.
Abegunde stressed that Governor Kayode Fayemi would not subscribe to employing workers that the state would not be able to promptly pay their salaries, adding that the process was therefore put on hold and TESCOM directed to refund their monies for the materials purchased.
He, however, assured that the recruitment process would continue as soon as the state finances improve to accommodate new entrants into the state workforce.
