RIVERS State Ministry of Health has prohibited consumption of local gin known
in local parlance as Ogogoro following the death of over 20 persons in Bonny
Island and Woji respectively.
The Director of Disease Control in the state, Roland Obed Whyte, said the
decision to ban the consumption of the local gin was part of government’s
proactive measures to forestall the death of some more persons, explaining
that it had been difficulty to get samples of the particular gin that claimed
the lives of the victims in Bonny and Woji.
He said the remains of some of the deceased were buried without their
families allowing the conduct of autopsy to medically ascertain the real cause
of their death.
Whyte, who said in Port Harcourt yesterday that some health officials are
currently on an intensive enlightenment campaign in Woji on the inherent
danger of consuming local gin, said preliminary findings indicate that some of
symptoms noticed in the affected victims include vomiting and blindness.
Bonny Youth Leader, Mr. Simon Wilcox, had raised alarm on Wednesday
that at least 17 persons lost their lives after the consumption of local gin and
eating dog meat.
He said: “Seventeen persons have been confirmed dead. We are going to the
hospital to attend to those who are lying critically ill. We need the help of
World Health Organisation (WHO), and Federal Government agencies to
assist people of Bonny kingdom.”
Meanwhile, the state Governor, Mr. Nyesom Wike, has appointed Felix
Obuah as the new Sole Administrator of Rivers State Waste Management
Authority.
The governor, who paid an unscheduled visit to the office of the authority
yesterday, expressed disgust with the abysmal performance of the
management and directed the new sole administrator to clean up the refuse
in Port Harcourt and its environs within the next 72 hours.