Oyo Rejects Diphtheria Outbreak Claims, Accuses APC

The Oyo State Government has strongly refuted claims by the Senator Sharafadeen Alli Campaign Organisation of the All Progressives Congress that diphtheria has broken out in 16 local government areas of the state, describing the allegation as entirely false and a reckless attempt to manufacture a public health crisis for political advantage.

In a statement issued on Tuesday by the Special Adviser to the Governor on Media, Sulaimon Olarenwaju, the Commissioner for Health, Dr Oluwaserimi Ajetunmobi, said there was currently no confirmed case of diphtheria in Oyo State, contrary to the APC campaign organisation's claims. "By peddling exaggerated outbreak claims and distorting immunisation data, SSACO has once again demonstrated a troubling willingness to spin falsehoods for political advantage, even at the expense of public safety," Ajetunmobi said.

The controversy began when the Senator Sharafadeen Alli Campaign Organisation issued a statement expressing grave concern over reports of a diphtheria outbreak affecting several local government areas, with attendant cases and fatalities among children. The campaign organisation, through its Director of Media and Publicity, Bisi Oladele, listed 16 LGAs as affected: Atisbo, Ibadan North-West, Oyo West, Akinyele, Saki, Egbeda, Oriire, Ibadan North, Ibadan South-West, Iwajowa, Ona-Ara, Atiba, Lagelu, Ogbomosho North, Surulere, and Oluyole.

However, the commissioner said official figures from the Ministry of Health's Diphtheria Outbreak Surveillance Update for Epidemiological Week 40, 2026, showed suspected cases in only 10 LGAs, and none had been confirmed. "The Oyo State Government wishes to make it unequivocally clear that there is currently no confirmed case of diphtheria in Oyo State," Ajetunmobi stated. "SSACO's claim that diphtheria is affecting 'several local government areas' across Oyo State is entirely false." The government described SSACO's inflated geography as a fabrication capable of causing needless public anxiety.

Ajetunmobi said the ministry had taken all necessary preparedness and response measures despite the absence of confirmed cases. "The Public Health Emergency Operations Centre has procured antibiotic supplies and requested buffer stock of diphtheria antitoxin," she said. "Rapid response teams have been activated promptly for suspected cases in line with the 7-1-7 framework, and suspected cases have been isolated and treated at the Infectious Disease Centre, Olodo, using DAT and appropriate antibiotics." She added that these steps reflected a government that took public health seriously and acted proactively to protect its people.

The commissioner also countered SSACO's claim that Oyo ranked at the bottom of South-West childhood immunisation coverage, saying the campaign organisation's assertion that the state moved from 51.3 per cent in the 2024 NDHS to 55.0 per cent in the 2025-26 survey was false. "Verified NDHS 2025-26 data show that Oyo State's basic antigen coverage is at the South West average, while its national schedule coverage exceeds the zonal average," she said. "For children aged 24-35 months, Oyo's full national schedule coverage is above the South West average. SSACO's figures are invented, and the official data completely dismantle the 'bottom of the region' narrative."

On SSACO's attempt to portray Oyo's participation in the Immunisation Plus component of the IMPACT Project as evidence of failure, Ajetunmobi said the claim was misleading. "Participation in IMPACT is a fact, not an indictment," she said. "The funds received under IMPACT are not free money, and the government has used them strictly for their intended purposes. If SSACO alleges mismanagement, it must specify what, where, and how, and present evidence, rather than juxtapose unrelated figures with unverified outbreak claims."

Regarding SSACO's demand for the publication of IMPACT reports, the commissioner said the project's financial and implementation reporting followed its established audit and disclosure framework. "The Ministry of Health welcomes scrutiny through appropriate channels, including the audit process. Scrutiny is legitimate; using an unverified outbreak as a stage for political messaging is not," she stated.

The commissioner reaffirmed the government's commitment to responding to every suspected case with urgency, protecting every child through vaccination, and publishing only accurate, evidence-based information. "What the government will not do is allow public health matters to be twisted into instruments of political fear," she said. "The people of Oyo deserve clarity, not concoctions; facts, not fabrications. The truth is clear, the response is active, and the falsehoods have been exposed."