Diphtheria: Oyo Govt Accuses Alli’s Campaign Organisation of Spreading Misinformation

…Says surveillance identified suspected cases in 10 LGAs, not the 16 claimed by SSACO.

The Oyo State Government has debunked claims of a diphtheria outbreak in the state, insisting that no case of the disease has been confirmed despite the identification of suspected cases across some local government areas.

The government described as misleading a statement by the Senator Sharafadeen Alli Campaign Organisation (SSACO), which alleged that diphtheria was affecting several local government areas and questioned the state’s childhood immunisation coverage.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, by the Special Adviser on Media to Governor Seyi Makinde, Dr Sulaimon Olanrewaju, said surveillance figures from the Ministry of Health showed suspected cases in 10 local government areas, but none had been confirmed.

The government faulted SSACO for listing 16 local government areas as affected, arguing that the claim was not supported by official surveillance data and could create unnecessary public anxiety.

According to the statement, the government’s position was based on the Ministry of Health’s Diphtheria Outbreak Surveillance Update for Epidemiological Week 40, 2026.

The Commissioner for Health, Dr Oluwaserimi Ajetunmobi, was quoted as saying that the state had activated necessary preparedness and response measures despite the absence of confirmed cases.

The statement said the Public Health Emergency Operations Centre had procured antibiotics and requested buffer stocks of diphtheria antitoxin (DAT) to strengthen the state’s response capacity.

It added that rapid response teams had been activated to handle suspected cases in line with the 7-1-7 framework, while suspected patients had been isolated and treated at the Infectious Disease Centre, Olodo, with antitoxin and appropriate antibiotics.

On childhood immunisation, the government rejected SSACO’s claim that Oyo ranked lowest among South-West states, saying verified data from the 2025–2026 Nigeria Mini Demographic and Health Survey (NmDHS) showed that the state’s basic antigen coverage was at the regional average.

It further stated that Oyo’s coverage under the national immunisation schedule exceeded the South-West average, including among children aged 24 to 35 months.

The government also defended its participation in the World Bank-supported Immunisation Plus and Malaria Progress by Accelerating Coverage and Transforming Services (IMPACT) Project, describing SSACO’s use of cumulative project receipts to assess a single immunisation indicator as misleading.

According to the statement, the IMPACT Project covers multiple components, adding that funds received under the programme had been used for their intended purposes.

The government challenged the campaign organisation to provide specific evidence to support its allegations of mismanagement, rather than rely on what it described as unverified outbreak claims and unrelated financial figures.

On calls for the publication of IMPACT Project financial and implementation reports, the government said reporting followed established audit and disclosure procedures, adding that the Ministry of Health remained open to scrutiny through appropriate channels.

The statement maintained that the state would continue to respond promptly to suspected cases, strengthen vaccination efforts and provide accurate public health information.

It urged residents to rely on verified information on disease surveillance and immunisation, while assuring them that the government remained committed to protecting children and preventing the spread of vaccine-preventable diseases.