President Bola Tinubu has directed the establishment of a cabinet committee to oversee the Cholera emergency operation centre operated by the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).

Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Ali Pate, made this known yesterday after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting chaired by Tinubu at the State House, Abuja.

The Minister said the cabinet committee comprises members from the Federal Ministries of Health, Finance, Water Resources, Environment, Youth, Aviation, and Education.

He added that the committee’s efforts are in addition to the state government’s support to ensure Nigeria makes progress in reducing open defecation and other developmental issues aiding cholera spread.

“The Council approved a cabinet committee comprising the Federal Ministries of Health, Finance, Water Resources, Environment, Youth, Aviation, and Education, as some of our children will be returning to school.

“In addition to this, the state government will be co-opted to ensure Nigeria makes progress in reducing open defecation, as cholera is a developmental issue that requires a multi-sectoral approach,” Pate explained.

Meanwhile, some states have adopted strategies to overcome the prevalence of cholera. These include chlorination of water, and awareness and education of the people on proper hygiene.

The Gombe State government said though the state is free of cholera outbreak, it has started distributing chlorine to the 11 local government areas as part of measures to mitigate cholera spread.

Its Waste Manager, Gombe State Environmental Protection Agency (GOSEPA), Dr Umar Musa, in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) yesterday, said the targeted areas are wells, stagnant ponds and reservoirs, while areas that fetch water from rivers would get aqua tabs.

He explained: “Chlorine will destroy pathogens in water which contain the bacterium called Vibrio Cholerae which causes cholera infection and other water-borne diseases.”

The manager, who said the chlorine distribution would continue until December, added that 110 trained personnel are handling the distribution.

“The use of chlorine was the preventive method Gombe State also adopted in 2023 and it yielded positive results because there was no single case of cholera recorded.

Also, the Anambra State Government, which said it had not recorded any case of cholera, through its Commissioner for Health, Dr Afam Obidike, said in Awka, the state capital that the ministry has, nevertheless, activated Emergency Response Teams across the 21 local government areas.

“Emergency response teams are also actively conducting surveillance in communities in the 21 LGAs to promptly identify and contain any potential cases.

“We have commenced public campaigns to raise awareness about cholera and emphasise preventive measures in homes and communities.

“The media has been engaged to disseminate crucial information and educate the public about the signs, symptoms, and preventive strategies for cholera,” he said.

For some schools in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), precaution is the watchword.

FCT Minister of State, Dr. Mariya Mahmoud, called on the FCT Primary Health Care Board to put in place measures to guard against the outbreak of cholera epidemic that has ravaged some states in Nigeria.

The minister made this call while taking briefs from the Director of the FCT Primary Health Care Board at the 190th FCT Joint Account Allocation Committee (JAAC) meeting in her office.

Mahmoud, who expressed satisfaction over the non-reported case of the epidemic in the nation’s capital, however, warned that as the seat of government necessary measures should be put in place to avoid any outbreak of the disease.

“I am indeed delighted that no case of the cholera epidemic has been reported in any of our primary healthcare centres across the six area councils in the FCT.

“However, that does not give us room to relax because this is the seat of government. The FCT Primary Health Care Board should put in place measures to guard against any outbreak of the disease.

“By now, I was expecting the board to commence radio jingles in different major languages and sensitization programmes in our schools, markets, mosques and churches. We should not give room for the outbreak before we start the fire brigade approach. That will not be acceptable,” she warned.

When NAN visited some of the schools yesterday in Gwagwalada, it observed that most schools have water drums and soap at designated places for pupils and teachers to wash their hands.

The move, they said, is to ensure availability of potable water for the pupils and others.

The Assistant Headmaster, Administration, Pilot Science Primary School, Mr Ismaila Gishe, said the Local Education Authority (LEA) recently provided plastic water drums and purifiers to purify the water before the pupils could drink it.

The Ogun State House of Assembly yesterday urged relevant government agencies to collaborate with local governments for proactive measures in containing the spread of cholera in the state.

The House’s members, led by the Speaker, Oludaisi Elemide (APC-Odeda), made the call during plenary.

Elemide commended the state government for its prompt intervention through the purchase of protective kits meant for the prevention of the spread.

He solicited the collaboration of relevant agencies and the Department of Public Health and Sanitation at the local government level.

Earlier, Wahab Haruna (APC-Yewa North I) had underscored the need to enforce compliance with public health precautions and promotion of hygiene by private food vendors to save the citizens.

Haruna who is Chairman, House Committee on Health, also explained the need for residents to take precautions to halt the spread of the disease.

In Oyo State, some residents of Ibadan, said the disease outbreak had compelled them to reconsider their eating habits and develop mechanisms to keep up with the situation

A motor mechanic at the Scout Camp area of the town, Mr Wale Adeyemi, says others like him feel hit the most being artisans.

According to him, since artisans rarely cook at work, they depend on food vendors but now they have started bringing food from home.

“One can’t expect people like us to cook when we are at our workshops. We buy food to eat as the only food most of us have at home is dinner.

“We have food hawkers who come daily to sell to us but now, many of us don’t patronise them again.

“Now, as my wife is packing the food for the children, she’s packing mine along. I also take garri and groundnuts or bread to ensure I have at least two meals at work.

“I’m not buying food from anyone until the government announces there’s no more cholera in Ibadan,” he said.

A pepper seller at Challenge, Mrs Basirat Lawal, likens this period to the days of COVID-19, as she recalled the precautionary measure of the COVID-19 days being replayed.

Lawal says she’s practising regular handwashing and mindful of where she buys her cooked foods.

“Since I heard about the cholera incident and learnt it started from drinking tiger nuts, I have stopped buying zobo from my customer.

“If I don’t bring food from home, I buy food from just one person because I trust her cooking hygiene, or I simply buy bread and coke.

Meanwhile, a barber, Mr Ahmeed Yinusa, described the experience restraining him from eating from different sources as the toughest in his over 30 years of existence.