By Nathaniel Zacchaeus, Abuja
The cholera outbreak ravaging Borno State has claimed 37 lives and infected more than 3,000 people across seven local government areas, triggering fresh fears of a nationwide epidemic as Northern senators accused the Federal Government of failing to act with the urgency demanded by the crisis.
Raising what they described as the strongest legislative alarm yet over the outbreak, the Northern Senators Forum on Tuesday warned President Bola Tinubu that continued federal inaction could allow the disease to spread beyond Borno through population movement, flooding and worsening sanitation conditions across the North-East.
The lawmakers said the outbreak had already overwhelmed health facilities in Maiduguri Metropolitan Council and Jere Local Government Area, the epicentres of the crisis, where overcrowded hospitals are struggling to cope with rising infections.
The outbreak has spread across MMC, Jere, Mafa, Konduga, Monguno, Ngala and Magumeri local government areas, with internally displaced persons camps and flood-prone communities identified as the worst-hit zones.
*Senators warn Tinubu: Delayed response risks nationwide epidemic
Chairman of the forum, Senator Abdulaziz Musa Yar’adua, warned that the rising death toll and rapid transmission rate had turned the outbreak into a national emergency requiring direct presidential intervention.
“Every life lost to cholera is one too many. The time to act decisively is now,” the forum declared.
The senators cautioned that Nigeria risks a wider public health disaster if emergency containment measures are not immediately deployed at the federal level.
According to the lawmakers, intensified rainfall is contaminating already unsafe water sources, accelerating transmission in densely populated communities with weak sanitation infrastructure.
They warned that population movement across the North-East corridor could trigger cross-state and cross-border transmission if the outbreak remains unchecked.
The forum demanded the immediate deployment of rapid response teams by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, emergency medical personnel, intravenous fluids, oral rehydration supplies and antibiotics to affected treatment centres.
The lawmakers also called for urgent cholera vaccination campaigns targeting internally displaced persons camps, flood-prone settlements and densely populated urban areas facing high transmission risks.
In addition, they demanded emergency provision of potable water, water purification tablets and sanitation facilities in affected communities.
The senators insisted that Borno State authorities no longer possess the capacity to contain the outbreak alone, warning that delayed federal intervention could worsen fatalities in the coming weeks.
“The combination of flooding, overcrowded IDP settlements and weak sanitation infrastructure has created conditions for a preventable tragedy,” the forum stated.
While acknowledging the interventions of the Borno State Ministry of Health and development partners including the World Health Organisation, UNICEF and Médecins Sans Frontières, the lawmakers maintained that existing efforts remain insufficient without massive federal backing.
The forum also urged the Federal Government to launch an aggressive nationwide public enlightenment campaign against open defecation and unsafe waste disposal practices, warning that medical interventions alone would not stop the spread of the disease.
“No effort must be spared in preventing further loss of lives,” the senators added.
