From Fred Ezeh, Abuja and Lukman Olabiyi
Jigawa government, yesterday, announced the suspension of traditional durbar in the five Emirate Councils of the state during the Eid-el-Kabir celebration.
Alhaji Adamu AbdulKadir, Secretary to the State Government (SSG), stated this in a statement by Isma’il Ibrahim, in Dutse.
Abdulkadir said the state government has also directed for the decentralisation of Eid prayers to neighbourhood mosques as well as limitations of all indoor gatherings.
The measure, he said, was to ensure safe Sallah celebrations in the state.
Following confirmation of the Delta Variant of COVID-19 and the rising number of infections and hospitalisation in the country, the Federal Government, at the weekend, placed Lagos, Oyo, Rivers, Kaduna, Kano, Plateau and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) on red alert as part of preventive measures against a third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
A statement by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation/ Chairman Presidential Steering Committee on COVID-19, Boss Mustapha, warned that all states of the federation should heighten their level of preparedness and continue to enforce all protocols put in place, given the renowned greater ease of spread of the Delta variant.
In view of the red alert, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has pleaded with residents to adhere strictly with the COVID-19 protocol.
Speaking at the presentation of party flag to chairmanship candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the forthcoming local government election billed for July 24, he said government would continue to do it best to manage the situation but urged the citizens as well to play their own part by adhering strictly to the protocol.
“We are monitoring the positivity rate. We are doing two things; we don’t want to unnecessary scare people and at the same time, ensure that we are very proactive.
On a daily basis, we are checking the rate of positivity and we are managing it. But that having been said, everybody is expect to act responsibly, to protect themselves and their families. And that is why as a responsible government, we are tell our people the truth and being transparently. Where we are now ; We are communicating efficiently to our citizens, please where you do not need to gather, please don’t gather. Where you cannot avoid unnecessary non COVID-19 compliance don’t go there. If you want to go out please where your face mask, please adhere strictly to protocol. We are doing everything to ensure that we flatten the curve. We have open isolation centres and Federal Government has assured us that by ending of August, we are going to get another batch of vaccine and we will start rolling it out the vaccination exercise again.”
However, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has warned researchers in various universities against parading unverified medicinal products as suitable for the cure of COVID 19.
NAFDAC was specifically concerned about the recent development in University of Jos (UniJos) where the school authorities claimed it had discovered a herbal tea that can cure COVID-19.
The Agency maintained that it had not approved any herbal remedy for use against COVID-19 in Nigeria, thus warning Nigerians against the consumption of such unapproved drugs as being marketed by the authorities of University of Jos or other individuals against COVID-19.
It also warmed against increased consumption of onions and garlic with the intention of getting stronger protection against COVID-19.
NAFDAC Director General, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, in a statement, yesterday, confirmed that the Agency had written a warning letter to the authorities of University of Jos threatening to sanction them if they continue to market unregistered drug against COVID-19.
NAFDAC said that UniJos cannot claim they have found COVID-19 drugs unless it has gone through the necessary listing process.
“Research into herbal medicine by the academia is normal but they must recognize the national regulatory authority established to safeguard the safety of Nigerians. They must ensure that the product that they are working on pass through NAFDAC if they want to make it available for human consumption.
“There have been one or two cases where the product was being encouraged to be used by people without going through us. When that happens, we won’t hesitate to sanction the university because they are supposed to go through the national regulatory authority in order to declare it safe for consumption.”
She said NAFDAC officials had also found out that the institution had been trying to sell the drug to their staff to, perhaps, confirm its efficacy and effectiveness.
“That’s a clear violation of regulatory policies. Nobody should say that this one can cure this or that without going through NAFDAC listing process,” she warned.
The NAFDAC boss further disclosed that many herbal products have been submitted for Federal Government grants because most of the herbal practitioners lack the required wherewithal to do clinical trial.
“As we speak many of these herbal products are being subjected to review by different agencies of government. In terms of going through clinical trial official protocols, none has come through yet.” That doesn’t mean they will not because the process is still on.”
Prof Adeyeye disclosed that the product is approved as “listed” if everything goes well, adding that ‘Listed’ simply means temporary approval for two years and renewable as a prelude to the clinical trial process.