Monthly Archives: May 2022

In bid to stop the spread of Monkeypox, the Federal Government has suspended importation of wild animals and warned hunters and sellers of bush meat to relax operation.

The government also cautioned operators of zoos, parks, conservation and recreational centres keeping non-human primates to adhere strictly with biosecurity protocols aimed at preventing their contacts with humans.

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mohammad Abubakar, in a statement, yesterday, directed veterinary epidemiology officers, field surveillance agents and to step up surveillance activities aimed at picking any possible case of Monkey Pox in animals.

He added that the Department of Veterinary and Pest Control Services now partners with the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and other stakeholders in the One Health Team to bring the situation under control.

He said: “Following the recent confirmation of Monkey Pox (MP) resurgence in Nigeria on the 29th of May, 2022 involving 21 persons by the Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC), where it was said to have led to the death of one person with co-morbidity.

“The Federal Ministry of Agriculture & Rural Development (FMARD) through the Department of Veterinary & Pest Control Services is actively collaborating with the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and other stakeholders in the One Health Team to ensure the situation is contained and brought under control.

“In view of the above, The FMARD is hereby giving the following advice:

“People must avoid contact with persons suspected to be infected with Monkey Pox at home and at work places.

“Hunters and dealers of “Bush meat” must desist from the practice forthwith to prevent any possibility of “SPILLOVER” of the pathogen in Nigeria.

“Transport of wild animals and their products within and across the borders should be suspended/restricted.

“Silos, stores and other agricultural storage facilities must institute active rodent control measures to prevent contacts and possible contamination of Monkey Pox Virus with foodstuff.

“All operators of Zoos, Parks, Conservation and Recreational centers keeping non-human primates in their domains must ensure strict compliance with their biosecurity protocols aimed at preventing their contacts with humans.

“All Veterinary Clinics, Veterinary Teaching Hospitals and other Veterinary Health Institutions across the country must ensure vigilance so as to be able to pick possible signs and symptoms of Monkey Pox in non-human primate (NHP) patients.

“We must also ensure regular hand washing using strong disinfectant anytime we handle NHP and rodents in our various locations.

“We must also discourage the act of consumption, trade and keeping of NHP as well as rodents as pets in our homes.

“The general public are hereby advised to report any pox-like lesions seen on humans or animals to the nearest human or veterinary clinics respectively.

“Lastly, Veterinary epidemiology officers, field surveillance agents and veterinarians should step up their surveillance activities aimed at picking any possible case of Monkey Pox in animals.”

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Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has been screened by the All Progressives Congress Presidential Screening Panel on Tuesday.

According to him, he is already ahead.

Osinbajo, who spoke with newsmen shortly after emerging from the screening, said the exercise was fruitful and

He said, “We were able to discuss several issues; issues of national and party concerns; and it went very well indeed; we had a very good chat.

“Of course, we are ahead of any party; way ahead, APC is ahead.”

Apart from Osinbajo and former Lagos State Governor, Bola Tinubu, other aspirants are the Senate President Ahmad Lawan and former ministers Rotimi Amaechi, Ogbonnaya Onu, Godswill Akpabio, and Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba.

Serving governors who are also aspiring to be president are Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti), Yahaya Bello (Kogi), Dave Umahi (Ebonyi), Ben Ayade (Cross River) and Badaru Abubakar (Jigawa).

Others are former Senate President Ken Nnamani, former House of Representatives Speaker, Dimeji Bankole, and serving senators Ibikunle Amosun, Ajayi Boroffice, and Rochas Okorocha.

President Muhammadu Buhari’s running mate in 2011, Pastor Tunde Bakare, Uju Ken-Ohanenye, Nicholas Felix, Ahmad Rufai Sani, Tein Jack-Rich, Ikeobasi Mokelu are also expected to face the party’s presidential screening panel.

Earlier, Buhari met behind closed doors with members of the Progressives Governors Forum at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Tuesday.

However, Vice-President Osinbajo was absent from the meeting.

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An anticipated bid by the All Progressives Congress (APC) to adopt the consensus arrangement in picking its presidential aspirant may turn out to be hard nut to crack for the governing party, as one its frontline presidential aspirants, Ahmed Bola Tinubu, insisted before the party’s presidential screening committee that he will never step down for any preferred candidate.

The APC national leader was among the twelve presidential aspirants screened yesterday by the party in camera.

The screening of the APC presidential aspirants which took place at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja, was shrouded in secrecy, away from curious journalists who were restricted to lobby at the reception of the five star hotel.

The twelve presidential aspirants screened yesterday include Tinubu; minister of Transportatation, Rotimi Amaechi; Jigawa State governor, Abubakar Badaru; former Senate president, Ken Nnamani; former minister of State for Education, Emeka Nwajuiba, former governor of Ogun State, Senator Ibikunle Amosun; fiery Lagos cleric and former vice presidential candidate to Muhammadu Buhari in 2011, Pastor Tunde Bakare.

Others are Ebonyi State governor, Dave Umahi; former Zamfara State governor, Ahmed Sani Yerima; Senator Ajayi Boroffice; the only female aspirant, Barr (Mrs) Uju Kennedy Ohnenye, and Pastor Nicholas Felix Nwagbo.

Tinubu who arrived at the screening venue at about 5:50pm had a difficult on his way to the screening room at Transcorp Hotel as a crowd fell over themselves to welcome him with cheers and songs of praises.

LEADERSHIP gathered reliably that sitting right before the committee, Tinubu told members of the presidential screening panel that he won’t agree to a consensus under any circumstance.

His stance was said to have put the former Lagos State Governor “at loggerheads with the whole panel.”

Other aspirants, apart from Tinubu and one of the presidential hopefuls, it was learnt, said they had no option than to bow to whims of the party in the spirit of party supremacy in the event where the party chooses to settle for a consensus presidential candidate.

“Only two others had reservations. But essentially everyone agreed that the interest of the party is sacrosanct. Tinubu outrightly disagreed. He said the only circumstance he would agree is if he emerges as the consensus candidate,” a source close to the screening panel told this paper last night.

There were also concerns yesterday in the camp of the APC national leader following the appointment of a former national chairman of the party, John Odigie-Oyegun, his estranged erstwhile political ally, as chairman of APC presidential screening panel.

Tinubu and Oyegun fell apart during the leadership crisis that consumed latter, leading to the emergence of former Edo State governor, Comrade Adams Oshiomole, as his successor.

While the APC was unobtrusive in planning and conducting the screening exercise at an undisclosed room at the Transport Hilton hotel Abuja, journalists had a hard day locating the venue when news broke in the early hours of yesterday without any official statement from the party to the effect that the exercise would hold.

At the hotel, journalists were barred from the venue of the screening unlike in the past when the conventional practice had been for the party to inform the media with details of the screening, including the venue and time of event.

There were no details about membership of the screening committee and when it was constituted till later in the day when it became clear that the APC quickly set up a seven-member committee chaired by Odigie-Oyegun to conduct the screening exercise for the presidential aspirants.

National chairman of the party, Sen Abdullahi Adamu, and National Secretary, Iyiola Omisore, were also said to be members the committee.

There had also been reports that the governing party was planning to prune the number of its presidential aspirants as part of plans for a consensus option which has popped up names like former President Goodluck Jonathan a possible preferred candidate.

The APC had postponed its presidential screening exercise for three consecutive times, leading to the postponement of its presidential convention earlier scheduled to be held on May 29-30.

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