RSG Tasks Traditional Rulers On Polio

Rivers State Governor, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, has
called on traditional rulers to properly educate their subjects on the State
Government’s efforts at eradicating polio from the State.

Governor Amaechi said this yesterday at the 87th – 89th
quarterly meeting of the Rivers State Council of Traditional Rulers in Port
Harcourt.

Represented by his deputy, Engr. Tele Ikuru, the Governor said
that “there is no reason why any child in Rivers State should be affected by
polio because the drugs are there and the medical personnel to administer
them,” urging the royal fathers to “go and mobilise your people, the community
leaders, youths and women to raise awareness about the polio epidemic.”

Commending the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for their
efforts at polio eradication, the State Chief Executive noted that their
collaboration with the State Government was paying off, and appealed to the
traditional rulers to advise their subjects to be law-abiding as government had
deployed security personnel across the State to beef up security during the
yuletide season.

Earlier, Chairman of the RSCTR and Gbenemene Tai Kingdom,
His Majesty, King Godwin Gininwa, called for a proactive measure to resettle
victims of flood disaster and decried the worsening security situation across
the country. He condemned the ceding of some oil wells belonging to the State
to some neighbouring states, stressing that the roles of traditional rulers
should be clearly spelt out in the ongoing constitutional review process.

Making a presentation on behalf of the Bill and Melinda
Gates Foundation on polio eradication, the World Health Organization (WHO)
Coordinator, Rivers State, Dr Richard Koko, listed Nigeria as one of the three
polio impacted countries, noting that Governor Amaechi, as Chairman of the
Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF) had done significantly well in mobilising his
counterparts to drive the eradication programme. He called on the royal fathers
to support the State Government to educate their subjects on issues surrounding
the polio epidemic.