Gombe State Governor, Inuwa Yahaya has said that Nigeria is recording notable gains in its renewed push against the polio virus, but the persistence of a vaccine-derived variant in the North West continues to raise concern.

Briefing State House correspondents after today’s National Economic Council (NEC) meeting, presided over by Vice President Kashim Shettima, Yahaya said recent interventions were already yielding results. 

According to him, Kano and Katsina recorded remarkable reductions of 65 per cent and 84 per cent respectively, while Gombe has maintained a clean slate this year. Sokoto, however, remains the epicentre, accounting for 13 of the 23 cases reported nationwide so far in 2025.

The governor outlined improvements in surveillance and vaccination. Settlements tracked with geo-coordinate data increased from 71 per cent in April to 78 per cent in June, while vaccination coverage rose from 81 to 84 per cent within the same period.

Looking ahead, the Governor announced that the second round of immunization will run from September 11 to 14 across 11 high-risk states, while a broader integrated nationwide campaign will follow in October.

According to him, the campaign, targeting children aged 0-14 years, will deliver measles, rubella, polio and malaria vaccines, alongside treatments for neglected tropical diseases, in a two-phase rollout to maximize coverage.

To ensure effective delivery, the committee urged state deputy governors to personally chair task force meetings at least two weeks before each campaign round, particularly in Kano, Kebbi and Sokoto.

Yahaya further appealed to security agencies to safeguard health workers in conflict-prone areas, stressing that vaccination teams often face risks in hard-to-reach or volatile communities.

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