The leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has replied the All Progressives Congress, APC, for discrediting its Government over successful containment of the Ebola Virus Disease in Nigeria. APC had in a statement told the ruling party to stop parading its self as the people behind the curtailing of the deadly disease.
The party in a statement issued in London on Sunday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said President Jonathan and his party were wrong to have appropriated the credit for the successful containment of the EVD without giving due credit to the real heroes of the successful battle: Dr. Stella Adadevoh and her colleagues at the First Consultant Hospital; officials of the Ministries of Health in Lagos and Rivers States and the patriotic Nigerian volunteers, among others. Reacting to the statement through its National Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh, PDP said the opposition party was frustrated and unhappy because Nigeria was now free from the virus through the efforts of its government.
According to him, “We know that the APC prefers that the Ebola scourge continued unabated in Nigeria so as to have what to blame the PDP-led government for. Now that it has been contained, the APC is frustrated because the people are happy with President Goodluck Jonathan and the PDP-led Federal Government for the proactive manner with which the disease was confronted and overcame.” Metuh maintained that Nigeria was able to contain the disease because of President Goodluck Jonathan’s refusal to politicize the issue. The statement further noted that it was public knowledge that immediately the disease surfaced in the country, the PDP-led Federal Government swung into action and co-ordinated intervention efforts with the Lagos State Government, Nigerian medical personnel and international health organizations to bring it under control. He said, “The PDP makes bold to state that the multi-sectoral approach deployed by the Federal Government with the concerted collaboration of the Federal Ministries of Health, Aviation, Information, Education, Transport and other relevant agencies such as the Nigerian Immigration Service for intensive screening, quarantine and treatment efforts as well as the massive awareness which ended the spread of the disease and resulted in its containment in our country. “We are also amused by the contradictions in the APC’s statement in which it also commended the roles played by the Honorable Minister of Health, Professor Onyebuchi Chukwu in the containment effort. “We ask, is the minister not appointed and supervised by President Goodluck Jonathan? Is he not of the PDP? Or is the APC now trying to appropriate him? “Apart from concerted collaborations using the Federal Ministry of Health, it is on record that President Jonathan released N200 million each to Lagos and Rivers States to help in fighting the disease, including improvement of health facilities and public enlightenment across board. “At every point, the President recognized the efforts of all Nigerians especially the medical personnel including the brave and courageous Dr. Ameyo Stella Adedavoh and all the doctors and nurses who made sacrifices in containing the virus. It is also on record that at no time did the PDP or the President relegate the contributions of the Lagos state government on Ebola”, Metuh added.
Although there is no single case of the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in the country and not a single contact still under surveillance, by the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) protocol, the health authorities can only epidemiologically declare the outbreak of the virus over in Nigeria on October 20, 2014.
Responding to THISDAY’s enquiries sunday following the confusion over the exact date Nigeria can be declared free of Ebola, the Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu, said the date is calculated as 42 days (that is, 21 days multiplied by 2) after the last case of EVD was discharged from the hospital.
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