By Fatai Kasali

The Special Adviser to the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare on Malaria, Mr Ologbenga Mokuolu has called for an improvement in the data on malaria in Nigeria to show the authentic figure of the disease

Mokolu stated this during an interview with  the press on Monday in Lagos in commemoration of World Malaria Day.

According to him, World Malaria Day, which is celebrated annually on April 25, is to highlight global efforts to end the disease, the need for sustained political commitment and continued investment in its control and elimination.

The theme for this year’s celebration is, ‘Accelerating the fight against malaria for a more equitable world.’

He also stressed on the need to always justify the culture of diagnostic testing before treating malaria to document actual cases.

“In a situation where we continue to practice empirical treatment for all fever, we are going to create a false record that exaggerates the number of malaria cases.

“If 10 people come in with fever, there’s a tendency for a health worker who didn’t conduct a test on the patient to diagnose seven for malaria, and that’s what the record would reflect.

“But if you test, you will be surprised that maybe two or a maximum four out of the 10 test positive for malaria,” he said.

Mr Mokuolu noted that more in-country information had been gathered due to the entomological monitoring set-up.

He said integrating a multisectoral approach in the malaria response had become crucial to achieving an impactful intervention.

According to him, primary healthcare centres are being strengthened across the country to prevent, detect and reduce the burden of the disease.

The professor also complained that budgetary allocation to malaria had been low at the federal and state levels and called for an improvement in funding to stimulate progress.

In a related development a consultant medical parasitologist, Wellington  Oyibo said research by his team across the country showed that primary source data on malaria at health facilities were inaccurate.

Mr Oyibo complained  that overdiagnosis and over-treatment of malaria were prevalent in health facilities nationwide, as all fevers are treated as malaria, with strong economic and life-threatening effects on patients and communities.

He said training and supervision of healthcare workers were critical to improve the quality of data analysed and reviewed for targeted interventions.

Ekiti State Security Advisers commander, Adewale Adegbola, has warned cultists and other miscreants fomenting trouble in the state to be ready for government onslaught as it has vowed not to allow anybody to rubbish its successes in the area of security.

Suspected cult members said to be about 20 on Saturday 30th of December 2023 attacked and razed down a house belonging to FAMISIN FAMILY. The eyewitness said the cultists were armed with dangerous weapons as they stormed the house around 1:00am. After shooting sporadically in the air, they poured petrol around the affected house and razed it down, trapping a 48-year-old mother and three children in the house, who did not survive the fatal incident.

One of the neighbours confirmed that she saw Mr Famisin and his daughter Elizabeth go to night vigil on Friday night before the incident occurred on Saturday.

The attack, according to a resident of the area, was a reprisal that led to the killing of a member of a cult group by one Famisin Eunice Tobi living in the house who, according to them she reported to the police leading to the death of the cultist in the police station.

Narrating the incidents to journalists, he added that while it was public knowledge that cultists were threatening to attack the house, the attack still came as a surprise. The fatal incident led to people being trapped and killed with all their property, including vital documents which were burnt, despite efforts by the state fire service (Ado Iworoko) to put out the fire.

The security adviser was surprised because the cultist hanged a threatening poster declaring war against the lady that she had no hidden place, because they have syndicates all over Nigeria. He, however, assured people of Omuo Ekiti and other parts of the state that the present administration will not shirk its responsibilities in fighting crime be it armed robbery, kidnapping or cultism.

First Bank of Nigeria Limited has appointed Olusegun Alebiosu as its acting Managing Director with effect from this month.

This appointment is however subject to the approval of the Central Bank of Nigeria, (CBN).

Alebiosu’s appointment followed the resignation of Dr Adesola Adeduntan as the bank’s MD/Chief Executive Officer last Saturday.

The bank announced the appointment in a statement signed by its acting company secretary, Adewale Arogundade, on Sunday.

The statement read: “Following the resignation of the managing director/CEO of FirstBank, Dr. Adesola Adeduntan, the Board of Directors has appointed Olusegun Alebiosu as the acting CEO of the 130-year-old institution.

“The appointment takes effect immediately and is subject to the approval of the Central Bank of Nigeria.”

Until his appointment, Alebiosu was the executive director, chief risk officer and executive compliance officer.

He also served as the Group executive/ chief risk officer, a position he held since 2016.

“Alebiosu brings to the executive management of FirstBank over 28 years’ experience in the banking and financial services industry with cross-functional exposure to Credit risk management, Financial planning and control, Credit and marketing, Trade, Corporate and commercial banking, Agriculture financing, Oil and Gas, Transportation (including Aviation and Shipping) and Project financing,” the statement added.