Zamfara State governor, Dr. Abdulaziz Abubakar Yari, has lamented the paucity of appropriate vaccines to confront the outbreak of meningitis in his state.
Reacting to the public condemnation that greeted his alleged comments on meningitis, Dr Yari said he never atributed the outbreak to a divine punishment from God for sins of fornication committed by the people.
The governor, who spoke through his special adviser on Media and Public Enlightenment, Mr. Ibrahim Magaji Dosara, pointed out that he merely asked Nigerians to move closer to God and plead for his mercy to avert further infectious diseases and other health crisis in the state and Nigeria since God has answers to all challenges.
“The governor said the situation was unfortunate because the state does not have enough vaccines yet for the Type C Meningitis.
“The governor thereafter enjoined all Nigerians to embrace prayers, as God who is aware of the outbreak of the ailment surely has antidote for it,” he added.
Although, the governor has promptly denied the media report, insisting that he was misquoted, outrage has continued to trail his comment.
Nigerians from all walks of life have condemned the governor’s statement as insensitive.
The Emir of Kano, Muhammad Sanusi II, yesterday, criticised the governor over the utterance.
Ben Murray-Bruce said the real sin in the country was not fornication but mismanagement by politicians. Senator Murray-Bruce, wondered why God will decide to suffer poor Nigerians, if he is actually punishing the country with the disease.
Murray-Bruce said the politicians in the country should actually be the ones suffering from meningitis, if Governor Yari was actually right.
Meanwhile, the federal government has said the outbreak of `Type C’ form of Cerebro-spinal Meningitis (CSM) in some parts of the country has nothing to do with moral or spiritual lifestyles of Nigerians.
The minister of state for Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, stated this after the meeting of the Federal Executive Council, which was presided by President Muhammadu Buhari.