FG says no bird flu on Obasanjo farms

The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has refuted the allegation that bird flu has attacked Obasanjo’s farm. It said the allegation by a national newspaper 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. A statement by the ministry said when the allegation was made, Akinwumi Adesina, the minister of agriculture, immediately dispatched the federal director of veterinary services and his staff to ascertain the facts on the ground.

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It said the minister also contacted the commissioner of agriculture of Ogun State, Ronke Sokefun, to get the staff of the Ogun State Ministry of Agriculture to verify the veracity of the said publication. The ministry said based on thorough investigation of the published outbreak, which did not emanate from any of its official channels of bird flu re- porting, it has been found that no such outbreak occurred. “It is, therefore, hereby stated categorically, for the benefit of the public, that the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry of Agriculture in Ogun State have dismissed the said publication…as false”. It said 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 farm, were swiftly quarantined, depopulated and decontaminated as soon as the infection was confirmed.