Ewekoro Local Government Embarks on Mass Mobilisation of Major Stakeholders for free Animal Vaccination
By Sakiru Olopade
Ogun state Ministry of Agriculture charges other Council Chairmen to emulate Hon. Adesina.
The officials of the Ogun State Ministry of Agriculture, department of veterinary services, has commended the executive chairman of Ewekoro Local Government Area, Hon Adesina Sikiru Adisa, for his unflinching support given to them during the free mass animals vaccination against deadly diseases in the economic animals in the council area.
According to Dr (Mrs) Funmi Jolaoso, the lead doctor from the department of veterinary services of ministry of Agriculture, the council chairman, Hon. Adesina, provided an enabling environment by ensuring wide animals population coverage, reaching out to the unprecedented larger number of the communities dogs and livestock owners in the area.
” The turn out is massive and we are quite happy for that, because the larger the population of vaccinated dogs and animals, the lesser the incidence of human rabies. We were able to vaccinate 216 animals altogether, this figure is enormous, the highest we have done out of the local governments visited so far”, Dr. Jolaoso explained.
“I equally want to thank the council Chairman, Hon Adesina Sikiru, for his support and I hope other council chairmen will emulate him. I also appeal to him to give more support to the extension services of both livestock and crop farmers because of their economic benefits”, she added.
In the same vein, the council’s head of Agriculture and Natural Resources department, Mr. Ogunmuyiwa Kayode, expressed his gratitude to the council Chairman and the management team for their support to sustain food security amongst livestock farmers.
Speaking at Elere Adubi, Mrs Omilani, a dog owner, narrated her own unpalatable experience about rabies few years back and extended her appreciation to the state government and the council chairman, Hon Adesina Sikiru for the free administration of mass animals vaccination.
Similarly, at Asa Apalolo and Oke oko, the people trooped out enmass and were full of appreciation to the government, claiming that, ” the free vaccination is unprecedented.”
Mass vaccination of anti-rabies and peste des petits ruminants (PPR) vaccines were administered to dogs and small ruminants respectively at Morekere, Baba lawo, Elere Adubi, Onigbedu, Asa Apalolo, Oke Oko and Afowowa. While the services will be extended to other parts of the council area in the course of the exercise.
The programme, sponsored by the Federal government in conjunction with the state and local governments was in connection with the pockets of canine rabies incidence that occurred in the state in recent times with the confirmation of the diseases in a suburb in Abeokuta metropolis.
This made it mandatory to implement a free mass animals vaccination campaign in all the twenty local government areas in the state, in order to prevent further spread of the diseases and nip it in the bud.