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Kogi Vet Association Wants 2 Vets Per LGA To Tackle Rabies
By Stephen Adeleye
The Nigerian Veterinary Medical Association (NVMA), Kogi chapter, has urged the state government to employ at least two veterinary doctors per Local Government Area (LGA).
The association said the move would strengthen rabies surveillance and One Health response in the state.
The state Chairman of the association, Dr Tolu Omotugba, made the call on Monday in Lokoja at a news conference to commemorate the 2026 World Rabies Day.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the World Rabies Day is celebrated annually on Sept. 28.
The aim is to raise awareness about rabies prevention and to highlight progress in defeating this horrifying disease.
Omotugba said Kogi, with 21 LGAs, large dog population used for hunting and security, and porous borders, could not afford to be complacent on rabies.
According to him, rabies is a disease that is 99.9 per cent fatal once symptoms appear, but 100 per cent preventable.
He said, though veterinary officers in the state civil service were putting in their best, their number was grossly inadequate.
“We have about 28 to 30 veterinary officers currently in the Kogi civil service, which is not enough. Some LGAs do not even have the presence of a veterinary officer.
“Most states in the federation have more than 50 to 100, some about 200.
“We are suggesting a minimum of two per LGA so that they can, at least, do disease reporting, especially for diseases of public health concern.
‘’If the state can do well, they can have as much as five per LGA,” he said.
He expressed concern over the high number of unreported rabies cases in Kogi and across the country.
Omotugba recalled that in 2025, Bassa LGA in Plateau lose 12 lives, including a family of three, to rabies, adding that “a single dog bite, a single scratch, can end a family.”
He said the 2026 theme, “Stronger Together”, underscored the need for collaboration among Ministries of Health, Environment, Education and Livestock, veterinary and medical doctors, environmental health officers and community leaders.
He commended the Federal Government, through the Federal Ministry of Livestock Development led by Minister Idi Mukhtar Maiha, for its vaccination target.
According to him, the ministry is targeting 70 per cent annual dog vaccination and zero human deaths from rabies by 2030.
The chairman noted that 26,000 doses were deployed to eight high-risk states in 2025, while the Federal Capital Territory recently flagged off vaccination of 20,000 dogs.
Omotugba decried that Kogi still relied on outdated laws, citing the Rabies Act of 1935 and the Dogs Law, Cap 36 of Northern Nigeria.
‘’The law provides for seizure and licensing, but lack modern population management and enforcement, ‘’ he said.
He said that less than five per cent of dogs in Lokoja, Okene, Anyigba and Ankpa were licensed.
“We cannot eliminate a 21st-century disease with 20th-century laws,” he said.
He therefore, urged the state government to domesticate the Kogi State Rabies Control and Responsible Dog Ownership Bill 2026 to make annual vaccination compulsory.
Omotugba also called for the establishment of a dog registry, stipulate penalties for stray dogs and replace shooting on sight with humane management.
He also called for a dedicated budget line for rabies under the Livestock Productivity and Resilience Support (L-PRES) Project to support free mass vaccination.
He recommended sensitisation and post-exposure prophylaxis in state hospitals, and creation of a Kogi One Health Rabies Task Force.
“Let Kogi lead as the first state in North-Central to be rabies-free,” he said. (NAN)
Edited by Esenvosa Izah
The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has unveiled the final list of Lagos State governorship candidate.
The list is contained in a document released by INEC on Saturday in preparation for the 2027 general elections.
According to the document, the Lagos State deputy governor, Femi Hamzat is listed at the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC.
Also on the list is Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour as the African Democratic Congress, ADC, candidate.
Find attach below document containing the full list.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has omitted former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, from its final list of governorship candidates for Gombe State ahead of the February 6, 2027 election.
Politics Nigeria reports that the commission released a list of 16 cleared candidates for the election, but Pantami’s name was missing despite his earlier inclusion in the provisional list published on August 29.
Among the candidates on the final list are Bala Bello Tinka of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Jamilu Isyaku Gwamna of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Babayo Ardo Kumo of the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC).
Others include Zubairu Mu’azu Halilu of the Labour Party (LP), Lamela L. Silas of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), Ibrahim Jalo Abubakar of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) and Adamu Mohammed Ma’aji of the Social Democratic Party (SDP).
Pantami’s exclusion comes amid a series of legal disputes over his emergence as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in the state.
The former minister had initially sought the APC governorship ticket but left the party after it settled for Gwamna as its consensus candidate. He subsequently joined the PDP and emerged as the party’s flag bearer through voice affirmation at its governorship primary.
However, a Federal High Court sitting in Gombe nullified his initial emergence on May 26, following a challenge to the primary process.
The court ordered a fresh primary election, which Pantami won on September 29 with 2,054 votes, defeating Khamisu Ahmed Mailantarki and Usman Aliyu Garry.
Garry had challenged Pantami’s emergence, arguing that the required primary election was not properly conducted before the former minister was declared the party’s candidate.
Despite winning the court-ordered rerun, Pantami’s eligibility remained in doubt following the Supreme Court’s September 24, 2026 judgment on provisions of the Electoral Act 2026 governing political party membership registers and candidate eligibility.
The Supreme Court affirmed the constitutionality of Sections 77(5), 77(6) and 77(7) of the Electoral Act 2026 and upheld INEC’s revised timetable and schedule of activities for the 2027 elections.
The provisions bar political parties from fielding candidates whose names were not included in the membership registers submitted to INEC within the stipulated period.
INEC has maintained that parties found to have violated the requirements will not be permitted to participate in the elections through candidates whose nominations breach the law.
Mohammed Haruna, an INEC national commissioner in charge of information and voter education, said the commission would not allow parties to replace candidates affected by the provisions.
Haruna made the clarification during an appearance on Trust TV’s programme on Wednesday evening, explaining that allowing substitutions would enable political parties to benefit from their own violations.
He cited previous disputes involving Zamfara and Plateau states to illustrate the consequences of parties failing to comply with electoral requirements.
“It’s like you committed an offence. And then, you come and benefit from it,” Haruna said.
He added that allowing parties to substitute candidates in such circumstances would amount to permitting them to benefit from an offence they had committed.
Haruna also indicated that the commission expected to make a definite pronouncement on the implications of the Supreme Court judgment by the following Tuesday.
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