The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD) has refuted a publication indicating that the Avian Influenza (Bird Flu) has attacked Obasanjo farms.
A statement signed by the minister, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, and made available to Leadership yesterday, said the report with the headline ‘Bird flu hits Obasanjo’s Otta farm,’ “has since been found to be a false alarm, a misleading assertion and an attempt to exaggerate the bird flu outbreaks within the nation beyond proportion so as to set off undue panic.”
He said that on hearing the report he “immediately dispatched the Federal Director of Veterinary Services and his staff to ascertain the facts on ground and also contacted the Ogun state commissioner of agricultur, Ronke Sokefun, to get the staff of the state ministry to verify the veracity of the said publication.
“Based on thorough investigation of the publicised outbreak, which did not emanate from any of the official channels of bird flu reporting, it has been found that no such outbreak occurred. It is, therefore, hereby stated categorically, for the benefit of the public, that the FMARD and the state ministry in Ogun State have dismissed the said publication as false.
“Although Ogun State is one of the states with reported cases of bird flu, the federal and state veterinary authorities have ensured that the four farms affected in the state, which did not include Obasanjo’s farms, were swiftly quarantined, depopulated and decontaminated as soon as the infection was confirmed.”
The statement added that surveillance of farms and live bird markets in the state for the disease has also been intensified with on-going advocacy and sensitisation of all stakeholders in the state. He added that the FMARD has been paying cash compensations to poultry farmers whose farms were depopulated.
Meanwhile, the commissioner of agriculture in Ogun State, Ronke Sokefun, had on Sunday disclosed that the state’s director of veterinary services, Dr Dotun Sorunke, visited Obasanjo’s farms in four locations in the state and the findings showed that the Ota Commercial Layers Farm has been empty since December 2014 while the Owiwi farm near Ewekoro is a hatchery concern.
The hatchery farm, according to the chief veterinary officer, “is most unlikely” to be affected as he explained that “in the Owiwi hatchery, there cannot be any outbreak as they are not rearing.”
She added “that the Ibogun (Ifo) farm and and Etile farm, on Ayetoro Road, Abeokuta North, were not having any record of mortality indicative of bird flu. With the situation report from the commissioner and the state’s director of veterinary services, we expect that speculations about outbreak of bird flu on Obasanjo farms in Ogun State should now be put to rest”
The Minister also appealed to the general public to disregard the reported bird flu case(s) on Obasanjo Farms,while assuring consumers of safety of poultry products.He urged the public to report suspected cases to the appropriate states’ veterinary authorities so that further investigations can be undertaken, rather than resorting to the media.
Akinwumi also harped on the need to ignore unfounded and sensational reports intended to create unnecessary panic as both the federal and state veterinary authorities are working hard to contain the current avian influenza incidences.
“We are fully on top of the situation and there is absolutely no cause for alarm. These are simply fabricated stories to scare the public and undermine our bold efforts to stamp out the bird flu. We will not be distracted” he asserted. – Leadership
