The Bayelsa government has called for the cooperation of private school owners and proprietors to implement its executive order on immunisation effectively.

Deputy Governor Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo made the appeal on Friday during a meeting with proprietors of private schools in Yenagoa.

He explained that the appeal had become necessary due to reports from immunisation teams indicating resistance and lack of cooperation from some private schools and parents.

Mr Ewhrudjakpo noted that the executive order, which mandated immunisation for all nursery and primary school pupils in the state, was intended to promote wellness and combat preventable child mortality.

He also dismissed rumours suggesting that certain vaccines were intended to depopulate Africa, urging parents and guardians to ensure their children were immunised.

The deputy governor noted that a new polio vaccine was developed to combat a mutated variant of the virus detected in about four northern states.

He directed the state ministries of education and health to issue formal notifications to all private schools about the government’s immunisation policy.

Furthermore, he instructed both ministries and relevant agencies to establish a task force to monitor compliance, stressing that no child should be excluded from any immunisation campaign.

Janet Ekpefa-Abdullahi, state chairperson of the Association of Private School Owners of Nigeria, and Richard Ugossough, state secretary of the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools, also discussed the opposition to immunisation.

They highlighted that opposition primarily came from parents who refused in-school immunisation.

Peter Osiki, principal of Deeper Life High School, Yenagoa, and Doris Amos of APSON appealed to the government to communicate directly with schools through the Ministry of Education.

They also recommended sensitising parents through radio announcements in both English and local dialects.

(NAN)