Sokoto LG Chairman solicits support for Polio campaign

The Chairman of Goronyo Local Government Council in Sokoto state, Alhaji Faruk Yar-Rimawa, on Monday called for a renewed vigour by state and local governments in the country to ensure the certification of Nigeria as a polio-free nation.

“President Muhammadu Buhari had recently reiterated his commitment to ensure that Nigeria is soon certified as polio-free by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

“The President therefore badly needs the support of the state and local governments to realise this lofty objective,” he said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that ‘Yar-Rimawa spoke to newsmen in Sokoto as part of activities marking the one-year polio-free status of Nigeria.

The chairman also expressed happiness that the Sokoto state had similarly marked two years without recording any case of the wild polio virus.

“Only Nigeria, Pakistan and Afghanistan are still battling with the polio pandemic and by the special grace of God the disease will soon be history in Nigeria.

“This feat recorded by Nigeria was a no mean feat and to sustain it, all hands must be on the deck,” Yar-Rimawa appealed.

He said that his administration was committing more N700,000 during each polio vaccination exercise in providing logistics support.

“The state government had since given all the 23 local governments a blanket approval to extend such support for the exercise,” he explained.