From Tony John, Port Harcourt
The people of Bille Kingdom in Degema Local Government Area of Rivers State are reportedly facing a disease outbreak suspected to be cholera.
Daily Sun gathered that many in the community have manifested symptoms similar to that of the bacterial disease.
The outbreak is reported to have lead to the intervention of the state government last week.
The Chairman of Degema LGA, Michael John Williams, had led a team of medical personnel to the kingdom to ascertain the true state of things.
A statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the LGA chairman, Daerefa-a Christopher Braide, said the visit was in response to the outbreak of cholera and other waterborne diseases threatening the kingdom.
Williams, speaking at the palace of the Amanyanabo of Bille Kingdom, HRH King Igbikingeri Ngowari Cornelius Herbert, Agbaniye-Jike XVIII, said the visit was to have background information of the situation in order to address it head-on to avoid a future recurrence.
He said following the outbreak, Governor Nyesom Wike immediately directed the Ministry of Health and affiliate agencies to quickly respond to the health crisis and bring it under control.
The council boss promised that the council would give necessary support to the experts from the health sector to ensure that the issue does not occur again.
Williams assured that the state government and the council would restore normalcy in Bille and commended the residents for making good use of the surveillance boats procured by his administration to secure their waterways.
The Amanyanabo of Bille Kingdom, HRH King Herbert, commended the council chairman for his continued love for his people, noting that Bille was the first community in the LGA to feel the impact of the LGA chairman, through the provision of fully equipped surveillance boats to tackle pirate attacks along the Bille/Port Harcourt Waterways.
Herbert, while lauding the state government for its swift response to the outbreak of the disease through the Ministry of Health, appealed for more drugs to be made available in the interim.
He noted that the ones earlier sent were very effective in containing the effect and spread of the disease and urged the government to build a bigger water treatment plant for Bille Kingdom, as the one they have was small and slow.
The monarch also urged the council boss to support the Bille security architecture by taking over the responsibility of its logistics, as the kingdom could no longer handle the challenge alone.