SEPTEMBER 14, 2014 BY FRIDAY OLOKOR, ABUJA
About two months after the importation of Ebola Virus
Disease to Nigeria by a Liberian-American ECOWAS
Diplomat, Mr. Patrick Sawyer, the Rivers State government
had yet to receive any monetary assistance.
But the Lagos State government had acknowledged receiving
N200m from the Federal Government.
The Rivers State Commissioner of Health, Dr. Sampson
Parker, who raised this alarm in an interview with
journalists on Saturday in Abuja, however stated that the
State government had received a budget of N1bn from
Emergency Operation Committee to fight EVD in the State.
“Well, I am still waiting; the Minister (of Health, Prof.
Onyebuchi Chukwu), has visited us and he said he was going
to do something. So, I am waiting”, Parker said.
He said that although it was too early to talk about how
much the State government has spent on the fight against
EVD, governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi has released over
N300 million and will continue to do more.
“The Governor will continue to release more funds; we are
paying salaries daily. We are paying allowances daily. The
expenditure is a daily occurrence. We will continue to spend.
We have a budget of about N1bn combined. It is not just
Rivers State Ministry of Health.
“It is from Emergency Operation Committee, comprising the
Ministry of Health, WHO, UNICEF, and Centre for Disease
Control. That is the EOC, it is not Rivers State. So, that is what
we are budgeting. That is our projection for Rivers State. The
Governor has promised us that whenever we need
resources, he is ready to make them available.”
The Commissioner however warned Nigerians not to
celebrate yet until the EVD issues are sorted out in Liberia
and Sierra Leone.
He was reacting to questions on plans on ground to ensure
adequate screening of anyone coming into Rivers State.
Parker said, “We have a very robust set up, not only for
treatment but also for prevention. All the points of entry,
coming in by bus, by air and by sea are all covered. We can
do just that much, I always say that no matter how careful
you are, a bad man is always a bad man; just as Ibukun
(Koye) escaped Lagos and came to Port Harcourt. And, there
was somebody that gave him a room.
“In war, where everywhere is tight, you see people escaping
tough gun battle and going to another country. It is like that.
And, again, that brings the fact that it is not yet time to
celebrate until we sort out the issues in Liberia and Sierra
Leone. Those are human beings; and, in every human being,
the survival instinct is high. If anyone escapes in Liberia and
Sierra Leone, the place they will think of is Nigeria.
“No matter how tight we put our security, they will find a
way to break through. The best way to prevent this disease
from coming into Nigeria is to go there; the international
community, Nigeria, West Africa community and Africa
should go there and solve their problems. If you don’t solve
their problems, one way or the other, they will break
through into other countries.”
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