By Dada Ahmed in Lokoja
The member representing Olamaboro Constituency in the Kogi State House of Assembly, Mr Ujah Anthony Alewo, has disclosed that over 50 persons had lost their lives in Etteh community of Olamaboro Local Government Area of the state to a strange illness.
The lawmaker who made the disclosure in a motion of urgent public importance at the floor of the House on Tuesday described the development as sad and quite disturbing.
He said that residents of the community had been thrown into confusion by the “outbreak of an epidemic alien to them.”
Health experts believe that the unknown disease comes with symptoms such as headache, red eye, loss of appetite, inability to urinate or defecate, convulsion and finally death.
The lawmaker noted that infected patients died within one week of contacting the disease.
He said: “More worrisome, all efforts to reach out for solution, using the local herbs and treatment at local health centres with referrals to neighboring clinics and hospitals at Ogugu and Okpo in Olamaboro respectively was not successful.
“The reports reaching my constituency office from the community leaders confirmed that over 50 people within the economic and productive of 25 to 40 years died from September to date, thereby stalling agricultural, social and economic activities which directly affect the food security of the agrarian and artisan Etteh people.”
The legislator urged the House to mandate its Committee on Health and Social Services for an on-the-spot assessment of damage to lives and property to the people of the affected Community.
The lawmaker also prayed the House to write “a strongly worded resolution, mandating the Commissioner for Health to direct medical experts to the affected area to unravel the cause of the epidemic and treat accordingly.”
Alewo also urged the House to do a passionate appeal to the State Government to send palliatives to the affected community,to cushion the effect of the huge loss incurred by Etteh Community.
Seconding the motion, the lawmaker representing Dekina Biraidu Moses Ododo, stressed that the lives of people in the community needed to be urgently saved to avert adverse effect on the economic input of the agrarian community to the State.
He suggested to the state government to construct a Hospital in Etteh Community to avert and tackle future occurrence of such epidemic.
Ruling on the motion, the Speaker, Prince Mathew Kolawole, asked for a minute silence for the lives lost due to the attack of the epidemic, adding that the House would write to Federal Medical Centre, Lokoja for support.