Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Health, Linus Awute committed a diplomatic faux pas when he failed to receive Secretary General of the United Nations (UN), Ban Ki-Moon at an event central to the ministry.

 

Awute, should have played the role of chief host at a vaccination programme, but arrived the event venue seven minutes after the exit of the UN scribe.

 

In a bid to cover up, officials of the ministry and the primary health centre, went on to conduct a short event, which saw the permanent secretary vaccinate two children with the Oral Polio Vaccine.

 

Awute, who didn’t have the opportunity to apologise for his lateness as Ki-Moon’s team had left, told newsmen of the Federal Government’s preparedness to sustain the disruption of the transmission of the wild polio virus.

 

 

Following a year without a case of the Wild Polio Virus, Ki-Moon said Nigeria had a good chance of finally eradicating polio.

 

July 24 marked a year of Nigeria not recording a case of polio. But the country will be certificated if it manages to stay polio free till 2017.

 

Ki-Moon, who spoke with newsmen after vaccinating a child with the Oral Polio Vaccine at the Area 2 Garki Primary Healthcare Center commended the commitment of the Nigerian government to rid the country of the disease, even as he noted that Nigeria was very much close to totally eradicating the disease.

 

He stressed that government was making appropriate investments to make the country’s healthcare sector more efficient. “This visit to me is to encourage the tempo of polio being totally eradicated as well as our effort in building a resilient health system that will reduce the country’s disease burden to the barest minimum “he said.

 

Also speaking at the event, Executive Director of National Primary Healthcare Development Agency, Dr Mohammed Ado said the collaboration between the Nigerian government and the UN with regard to the elimination of polio will be further strengthened by the visit.

 

By Kemi Yesufu

Daily Sun