Earlier, the chairman of the APC electoral panel, Prof Emmanuel Adebayo Kehinde said that five contestants participated in the fresh primary election of the party.

The election, which took place at the Afikpo North Local Government Area headquarters, witnessed the presence of prominent stakeholders of the state, including the members of the state executive council.

The contestants included; Austin Chukwu Umahi, David Umahi, Mrs Ann Agom-Eze, Mrs Ibiam Margret Ezenwanyi, and Mrs Chiko Elizabeth Nwakaego.

Declaring the results of the election, Prof. Kehinde, said that Umahi pulled a total of 260 votes to emerge the winner of the election.

He noted that Ezenwanyi scored 3 votes, Nwakaego scored 5 votes, while 7 votes were invalid.

DAILY POST gathered that Umahi and his younger brother, Austin Chukwu Umahi, came first and second respectively, while Agom-Eze had zero votes at the time of filing this report.

It was also learnt that Umahi’s younger brother boycotted the election.

In a swift reaction, Umahi thanked the entire people of Ebonyi State for the opportunity given to him to clinch the ticket.

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Although endemic to the West African nation, Lassa fever has never reached this case count in Nigeria before. The number of confirmed cases during the past two months exceeds the total number of confirmed cases reported in 2017.

The outbreak has affected 18 states since the first case was detected on 1 January 2018, resulting in 72 deaths caused by the acute viral haemorrhagic fever. A total of 2,845 people who have come into contact with patients have been identified and are being monitored.

The World Health Organization is supporting the NCDC-led response with a focus on strengthening coordination (including through the Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network), surveillance, contact tracing, laboratory testing, clinical management of patients, and community engagement. State health authorities are mobilizing doctors and nurses to work in Lassa fever treatment centres.

“The ability to rapidly detect cases of infection in the community and refer them early for treatment improves patients’ chances of survival and is critical to this response,” said Dr Wondimagegnehu Alemu, WHO Representative to Nigeria.

Health facilities are particularly overstretched in the southern states of Edo, Ondo and Ebonyi. WHO is working with health authorities, national reference hospitals and the Alliance for International Medical Action (ALIMA) to rapidly expand treatment centres and better equip them to provide patient care while reducing the risks to staff. Among those infected are 14 health workers, four of whom have died.

“Given the large number of states affected, many people will seek treatment in health facilities that are not appropriately prepared to care for Lassa fever patients and the risk of infection to healthcare workers is likely to increase,” said Dr Alemu.

Health workers are being trained in infection, prevention and control measures, such as the importance of wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) and isolating patients during treatment. WHO has provided an initial supply of PPE, other related materials and is assessing additional needs with a view to addressing them.

WHO is also supporting national response efforts in neighbouring Benin, where more than 20 suspected cases have been reported.

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The peer advisory mechanism, which is a brainchild of the Nigeria Zero Hunger Forum (NZHF) is aimed at reviewing, monitoring, and advising states in Nigeria on the ways and means by which the states themselves, using available resources, can achieve zero hunger by 2030.

The five pilot states which have given their endorsements include Benue, Borno, Ebonyi, Ogun and Sokoto state.

“More states will be involved as we make progress,” according to the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) Goodwill Ambassador, former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who is chairing the NZHF.

According to a communique issued at the end of the maiden edition of the NZHF in Makurdi and made available today, members of the NZHF which cut across the private sector, government and development partners agreed to hold its advisory meetings on quarterly basis across the states.

The Forum also adopted a template for its future advisory meetings: The first day should be dedicated to a welcome address by the state followed by presentations of what is going on in the host state related to achieving zero hunger (challenges, successes, and lessons learnt).

The next day, should be dedicated to field visits to engage with large, medium, and small scale farmer groups; medium and large scale agriculture related industries such as food and feed processors, and fertilizer blending factories, and programs to improve the health and nutrition of infants and children. The day should end with reflections of the day and a communique.

Dr Kenton Dashiell, IITA Deputy Director General for Partnerships for Delivery, who also manages the secretariat of the NZHF at IITA, explained that the peer advisory mechanism of the NZHF would encourage states to keep focus to the commitment they made towards agriculture so they could by themselves achieve their set targets.

He commended the maiden meeting in Benue state, noting that the state has the capacity to feed the country if its agricultural potential was fully tapped.

The Governor of Benue State, Dr Samuel Ortom, described the Nigeria Zero Hunger initiative as a tool that would accelerate the agricultural development of states through peer learning.  He noted that through the instrumentality of the Forum the state was able to purchase fertilizers in good time for distribution to farmers.

“Again from the NZHF meeting, we have been given advice on how to handle certain areas and in some cases the former president personally made contacts through the phone on our behalf to persons who have the answers,” Dr Ortom explained.

The meeting in Benue, had in attendance Governor Ortom, Ebonyi State Governor, David Umahi; Deputy Governor of Borno State, and representatives of the Governors of Ogun and Sokoto states, the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), African Development Bank (AfDB), World Food Program (WFP), the private sector, farmer groups, members of Benue State Executive Council, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD), the Nigeria Army School of Military Engineering (NASME), and members of the press.

The NZHF is supported by IITA, African Development Bank (AfDB), WFP and the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL).

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