By Iliya Kure
Minna (Nigeria) — The Lord’s Chosen Church, located Off David Mark Road [behind Presbyterian Church] in Minna, has on Sunday denied a team of vaccinators access to children in the church for immunisation against measles disease.
By design, vaccinators are to go to churches on Sunday, so as to capture a large number of children.
But on reaching the Church in question, around 10:20am, the team was told that the Church was on session and that no child would be allowed to come out.
The vaccination team left and came back around 12:30pm, but the chief usher (called Inspector by his colleagues) said the pastor was against the children stepping out for the vaccination.
He was also not willing to inform the Pastor or any other key Church official of the presence of the vaccinators.
About three members of the Church who came out, supported the position of the Inspector, insisting that the children will not come out.
The Community Leader, Malam Yakubu Ibrahim, who was accompanying the team said, that was the first time the Church was rejecting any vaccination, adding that “we served all the Churches in this area with letters before the commencement of the exercise. I am surprise that the Church is acting this way.”
The Malam Ibrahim believes that the Church may have changed their Pastor, “if not, I cant explain what is happening.”he said
Reacting, the Director Primary Healthcare of Chanchaga Local Government Area, Malam Usman Shamaki said “we will visit the area and resolve with the Pastor, so we may not have this experience again.”
