The Bayelsa State Government has called for the cooperation of private school owners and proprietors to effectively implement its executive order on immunisation.
Deputy Gov. Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo made the appeal on Friday during a meeting with proprietors of private schools, in Yenagoa.
He explained that the appeal had become necessary due to reports from immunisation teams indicating resistance and lack of cooperation from some private schools and parents.
Ewhrudjakpo emphasised that the executive order, which mandated immunisation for all nursery and primary school pupils in the state, was intended to promote child wellness and combat preventable child mortality.
He also dismissed rumours suggesting that certain vaccines were intended to depopulate Africa, urging parents and guardians to ensure their children were immunised.
The deputy governor noted that a new polio vaccine was developed to combat a mutated variant of the virus that had been detected in about four northern states.
He directed the state Ministries of Education and Health to issue formal notifications to all private schools about the government’s immunisation policy.
Furthermore, he instructed both ministries, along with relevant agencies, to establish a task force to monitor compliance, stressing that no child should be excluded from any immunisation campaign.
“This meeting is inevitable and profound inevitable because we are almost in an emergency, and profound because it will have far-reaching implications.
“You are very important because, as proprietors and teachers, you have significant influence over our children. Approximately 40 per cent of pupils in the state attend private schools.
“Among these are two key groups: children aged two to five and girls under 13. These categories are the focus of two major global health programmes.
“We’ve called this meeting because we’ve observed persistent resistance to immunisation from some school operators, who often cite parental objections. You need to be fully aware of the state’s policy, which is supported by an executive order.
“This order states that no child without an immunisation certificate should be admitted into any school in Bayelsa State. This is a binding government policy,” he stressed.
Mrs Janet Ekpefa-Abdullahi, State Chairperson of the Association of Private School Owners of Nigeria (APSON), and Mr Richard Ugossough, State Secretary of the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPPS), also spoke about opposition to immunisation.
They highlighted that opposition primarily came from parents who refused in-school immunisation.
Mr Peter Osiki, Principal of Deeper Life High School, Yenagoa, and Mrs Doris Amos of APSON, appealed to the government to communicate directly with schools through the Ministry of Education.
“They also recommended sensitising parents through radio announcements in both English and local dialects.”
