China has notified the World Health Organisation (WHO), that a woman infected with the H3N8 bird flu died in March.

The case, which is only the third known human case ever and the first to result in death from the strain, the two previous cases were reported in China last April and May, the WHO said.

In the latest incident, a 56-year-old woman from south-eastern Guangdong province died on March 16 after falling ill in February and being hospitalised for severe pneumonia.

“The patient had multiple underlying conditions. She had a history of exposure to live poultry before the onset of the disease, and a history of wild bird presence around her home,’’ the UN health body said, citing information from China’s National Health Commission.

None of her close contacts have developed an infection or symptoms of illness.

The WHO said a poultry market near her residence could have been the source of her infection.

Samples collected from the market were positive for influenza A(H3) subtype.

In the two previous cases, one patient developed a critical illness and the older had mild symptoms. The WHO said direct or indirect exposure to infected poultry was the likely origin.

The WHO said the risk to humans remained low.

“The available epidemiological and virological information suggests that avian influenza A(H3N8) viruses does not have the capacity for sustained transmission among humans.

Therefore, the current assessment is that the likelihood of human-to-human spread is low. (dpa/NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Halima Sheji/Sadiya Hamza

By Kingsley Okoye

Chief Kenneth Gbagi, Social Democratic Party (SDP) governorship candidate in Delta, has appealed to the election petition tribunal in Asaba to disqualify the Governor -elect, Sheriff Oborevwori over alleged forgery.

He also sought the disqualification of the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Ovie Omo-Agege; Labour Party Candidate (LP) Ken Pela; the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) candidate Mr Great Ogboru, on the ground of violation of the 2022 Electoral Act.

Gbagi, a former Minister of Education, made the call in an interview with newsmen in Abuja.

The SDP candidate in the March 18 governorship election, had filed a 79-page petition against the governor-elect and the other frontline candidates, seeking for their disqualification .

Gbagi in a certified true copy petition with No. WPT/DL/GOV/2023 to the tribunal, alleged that the candidates, in their attempts to meet the constitutional requirements of eligibility for 2023 governorship election, presented forged documents while filling the INEC forms.

He said the forged documents included multiple sworn statutory declaration of age and affidavits, inconsistency of names of some of the candidates, perjuriously swearing of affidavits.

Other electoral infraction alleged to be committed by the candidates also included lying under oath, claims of possessing and non possession of various academic qualifications and alleged financial impropriety by one of the candidates, among other infractions.

He also hinged his call for their disqualification on the alleged degrees of electoral malpractice at the march 18 poll in Delta.

He listed the alleged malpractice to include over voting, vote buying induced by the candidates.

He said there were situations where the total number of votes recorded and allotted were more than the Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) collected by voters that exceeded the number of registered voters in the polling unit.

Other alleged infractions, according to him, included alteration of some results sheets which did not reflect on the duplicate copies given to party agents, mutilation of form EC8As, polling units without corresponding voting points result sheets, over and under balloting, among others.

“I am a candidate, and I am saying, we are candidates of these election, but this people who are candidates ought not to be candidate and the tribunal is the appropriate place.”

The SDP candidate, consequently in the petition, urged the tribunal to declare non and void and of no effect, the Certificate of Return issued by INEC to the candidate of PDP as the winner of the governorship election in Delta State.

He further urged the tribunal to withdraw the Certificate of Return and issue a fresh certificate to him as duly qualified and elected governor.

“For those of us, who contested and participated, I am the only one on the list that is qualified.

“The election has been held, marks were allocated to us, my prayer is that they were not qualified, and I should be declared as the winner of the election because I am the only qualified candidate in the first instance,” he said.

He said it was the right time to bring up the matter as records and experience showed that pre election cases most times do not go far.

“Go back to the Electoral Act, I could not have raised an objection on issue of a candidate of a party that I am not a member.

“Every one who went to pre-election matter, none of them went any where, this is the appropriate time, to raise this issue,” he said

Meanwhile, effort to get reaction of the Chief Press Secretary to the Delta Governor -elect, Mr Dennis Otu, was unsuccessful as he didn’t respond to the WhatsApp message request for his reaction. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Idris Abdulrahman

By Gregory Mmaduakolam

The Evergreen G6 Club, a Non-Governmental Organisaion (NGO) has donated some food items worth N300,000 to Rachel’s Home for the Orphans and Vulnerable Children Kurudu, in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Mr Bamidele Olujobi, the President of the Club, said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Sunday.

Olujobi , represented by the Secretary of the club, Mr Philip Akpa, said that the items donated to the orphanage home included bags of rice, cartons of indomie noodles and cartons of spaghetti

Other food items are yams, toiletries, bags of salt, kegs of groundnut oil, palm oil, bags of beans and beverages.

According to Olujobi, needs of the vulnerable and orphans should not be left for only the governments and the owners of the organisations.

He said God Almighty had blessed the members of the organisation and they were now giving back to the society.

“Some of these homes like Rachel’s Home for Orphans and Vulnerable Children provided the opportunity for us to give back to the needy and the vulnerable in the society.

“Particularly this period every member of this club, who is a Christian, is celebrating the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ which is Easter and this is the period, where every child will need a touch of a parent and need for somebody to celebrate with them.

“So, we said we should come here to celebrate Easter with them in a way they will not feel the absence of their biological parents , as we are standing in as their parents today,” he said.

Olujobi, said the club had given scholarships to several vulnerable and indigents students up to university level, adding that eight students were recently registered for WAEC and NECO exams by the organisation.

He explained that the club had previously visited the Old Peoples Home in Kardo, FCT and Apo Mechanic Village as well as the orphanage home in Masaka in the Nasarawa State.

He said the club has annual projects it carries out every year in order to assist the vulnerable and the needy and had donated item like braille for the school of blind.

He urged the Federal Government to pay more attention on supervision and monitoring of the orphanage homes and schools for the vulnerable in order to check the incidence of child’s trafficking and kidnapping.

Olujobi, also advised the governments to establish vocation facilities such as tailoring, mason, carpentry and barbing salon where these vulnerable and needy children could be trained as well as paying of school fees for them.

He also called on the Federal Government to reduce the issues of banditry and terrorism which always gave rise to orphans and vulnerable children who lost their parents as a result of these factors.

Dr Oladele Oluayinka, Chairman, Project Committee of the club, said the club had 30 financial members who had the passion to help the need and vulnerable, “hence they came together to form the club in order to assist them”.

Oluayinka, said since the establishment of the club in 2011, it had spent over N5 million in order to provide succour for the needy and vulnerable children.

Earlier, Mr Pedro Odewu, Admin Director, of the orphanage home, thanked the club and expressed satisfaction for the food items it gifted to the home.

He urged the federal and state governments to come to their aid; as they have over 83 children; infants and adolescent who required a lot of monies and personnel to take care of them. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Isaac Aregbesola