The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar lll, urged traditional leaders in Zamfara to redouble their commitment toward polio eradication in the state.

Abubakar made the revelation in Gusau on Tuesday at a strategic meeting with traditional leaders in the hard-to-reach areas of the state.

According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the meeting was organized by the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) in collaboration with the Sultan Foundation for Peace and Development.

The monarch, represented by the Coordinator of the Foundation and Emir of Argungu, Alhaji Isma’ila Mera, described the high rate of polio virus cases in the state as alarming.

While noting that, from January to date, a total of 21 polio cases have been recorded in the state, the figure being almost half of the total cases in the country.

He also said that out of the 21 cases , seven were recorded in Gusau local government area,  six recorded in Maradun,  five cases in Gummi while Maru and Bungudu recorded two cases and one case respectively.

“As I am speaking to you, with these figures, Zamfara has become the  epicenter of the polio virus in the whole of Africa.

“Most of these cases were recorded in the inaccessible communities in the state due to insecurity.

“This is very unfortunate; as traditional rulers, we will not allow ugly things to continue,” he stressed.

He called on traditional rulers in the state to always ensure that every child in their domain is vaccinated against polio.

“We invited you to this meeting to discuss extensively on ways forward to addressing the challenges.

“Therefore, we are expecting positive changes from the meeting,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Sultan applauded the commitments of Gov. Dauda Lawal’s effort toward polio eradication,

“The governor expressed readiness to work with us towards polio eradication,” he asserted.

In his remarks, the Executive Director, NPHCDA, Dr Faisal Shuiab, said  the focus of the meeting was focused on delivering polio vaccines to eligible children in inaccessible settlements, to stop the transmission of the circulating variant poliovirus type 2 by December of  2023.