EBOLA: Reps to probe change in school resumption date

THE House of Representatives on Tuesday, directed its Committee on Education to probe the controversies that has now trailed the issue of resumption date for private and public primary/secondary schools in the country.

In the wake of the outbreak of the Ebola virus disease in the country, resumption date for the 2014/2015 academic session was shifted by the Federal Government to October 13 for containment of the virus by health workers.

Controversies, however, continue to trail the Federal Government’s new directive to schools to resume on September 22 as against October 13 after meeting with section of stakeholders in the education sector.

But, the Deputy Chairman, House Committee on Media and Public Affairs in the House of Representatives, Honourable Victor Afam Ogene, while responding to questions from newsmen on the matter, stated that the House leadership had mandated its Committee on Education to take another look at the change of dates for resumption of students.

The House Committee on Education enquiry, he said, would be, “in the overall interest of the pupils and students, parents and guardian and the general wellbeing of the entire country.”

According to him, “you will recall that upon the outbreak of the dreaded Ebola virus disease in Nigeria, the House Committee on Health rose up to the occasion by interfacing with the health authorities, the result of which is the positive containment efforts and call-off of the strike by doctors in the country.”

Don encourages animal scientists

THE President of Nigerian Institute of Animal Science, Professor Placid Njoku, has promised that the institute would encourage its members to produce popular bush animals in hygienic and Ebola disease-free environment.

Njoku made this appeal on Tuesday while addressing members at the sixth Annual General Meeting and induction ceremony of the institute at the International Conference Centre, University of Ibadan, Oyo State.

He said the institute recognised the efforts of the federal and state governments as well as the collaboration of the international agencies in the response to the Ebola disease.

The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr Akinkunmi Adesina, who was represented by the Director, Federal Department of Anima Production and Husbandry Services, Dr Ademola Raji, said “the Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA) of President Goodluck Jonathan is succeeding for all major agricultural commodities, including livestock at an unprecedented pace in the history of Nigeria.”

“We have all seen the revolution in rice production and processing; in cassava, sorghum and cotton that have increased output per hectare, through the supply of high quality raw materials to revive industries that have hitherto closed down.

For instance, food production in 2013 rose by eight million metric tonnes over 2012 figures which represent over 70 per cent growth of the target set for 2015 by government. In 2012, 264,000 hectares of dry season paddy rice cultivated in the Northern states alone yielded 1.1 million metric tonnes.

“The drive to turn agriculture into business and not merely a way of life is now in full gear, with the use of mobile phones and e-wallet for input distribution directly to farmers; farmer’s registration with biometric identity cards and the Growth Enhancement Support Scheme.”

Ondo Assembly passes cremation law

FOLLOWING the threat posed by the ravaging Ebola Virus Disease, the Ondo State House of Assembly on Tuesday passed the law for the disposal of bodies by cremation and for other matters connected.

The bill, which was last week presented by the state governor, Dr Olusegun Mimiko, was passed into law after the third reading preceded by the presentation of the report of the House Committee on Health headed by Honourable Bamidele Oleyelogun.

Presenting the report, the lawmaker said the committee had on Monday organised a public hearing to enable all stakeholders have an input into the bill before the passage.
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According to him, the stakeholders were of the opinion that there was the need for speedy passage in view of the prevailing circumstances in the country.

He said the committee observed that the introduction of the law would go a long way in complementing the efforts of the state government in checking the spread of contagious diseases in the state.

Oloyelogun also said the law had taken care of any hazard that might occur to any health personnel in line of duty at the crematorium.

The Majority Leader of the House, Dayo Akinsoyinu, representing Ondo West constituency 2, noted that the public hearing attracted people from the health sector leading to a robust report of the committee.

Moving the motion for the passage of the bill, Akinsoyinu said the law would further improve the health sector and protect the people of the state.

The Speaker of the House, Rt. Hon. Jumoke Akindele, said the law was in response to the Ebola virus scourge, adding that it would make the bodies of affected people properly disposed.

She said the move became necessary since experts had said that one of the ways to prevent the spread of the disease was proper disposal of bodies.

Akindele, however, noted that the law would be in operation after the world would have solved the Ebola problem.

Nigeria, others to get $10m aid from US

THE United States will contribute $10 million to pay for medical workers and equipment to fight the deadly Ebola epidemic ravaging Nigeria and other West Africa, officials in Washington said on Tuesday.

The latest cash infusion would bring to more than $100 million the funds that the US government has spent trying to combat the outbreak, the US Agency for International Development said.

USAID said the funds will help finance a deployment by the African Union (AU) of doctors, nurses and other medical personnel to Liberia, Guinea, Sierra Leone and Nigeria.

“The US is committed to supporting the African Union’s response to the urgent needs across West Africa as a result of this vicious disease,” said Rajiv Shah, the head of USAID.

“We can and will stop this epidemic, but it will take a coordinated effort by the entire global community,” Shah said.

The funds provided by USAID and the State Department will be used to transport to the affected region a contingent of about 25 doctors and 45 nurses, as well as other medical staff tasked with running Ebola treatment units, where patients are kept in isolation while recovering from the illness.

Kaduna spends N116m to train teachers

DETERMINED to curb the spread of Ebola virus in schools across Kaduna State, the state government has earmarked N116 million for the training and sensitisation of teachers in all public and private schools within the three senatorial zones in the state.

The government also announced that although schools were now to resume in September 2014, Kaduna schools were free to resume in October if they were yet to prepare against the scourge.

Speaking at the inauguration of the training workshop, organised by the state ministry of education at the premises of the Government College, Kaduna, the Commissioner for Education, Malam Ibrahim Ali, said the state was the first in the federation to start the workshop for teachers on Ebola.

He thanked Governor Mukhtar Ramalan Yero for approving money to train 13,000 teachers in the senatorial zones on the prevention of Ebola in both public and private schools.

He, however, called on the private school owners to reciprocate the kind gesture, saying the National Association of Private Schools (NAPS) had earlier requested the state governor to provide them with the clinical thermometers for the testing of Ebola of which he had responded.

Earlier, the Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Dr Madinatu Shehu, urged participants to benefit greatly from the sensitisation workshop.

Chairman of SUBEB, Mr Ishaya Dare Akawu, said SUBRB took the issue of fighting Ebola very seriously and emphasised the need for the promotion of a healthy learning environment.

President of NAPS, Dr Ogini commended the state government for coming up with the initiative.

President of the Parents Teachers Association (PTA), Alhaji Danjuma Shehu, commended the state government for the huge sum of money set aside for the workshop which he said was geared towards the protection of the children.

Osun cautions NURTW, RTEAN members

COMMITTED to checkmating any incidence of Ebola Disease Virus (EVD) in Osun State, the state government’s committee on the monitoring and prevention of the scourge, on Tuesday, organised a sensitisation workshop for leaders of transport unions in Osogbo.

Addressing participants at the workshop, the Director of Primary Health Care (PHC) and Disease Control in the Ministry of Health, Dr Kayode Ogunniyi, warned commercial drivers against movement of corpses from outside the state to Osun, stressing that such practice was capable of aiding the spread of EVD to the state.

He charged members of National Union of Roads and Transport Workers (NURTW) to request for death certificate of any corpse, with a view to ascertain the cause of death as a precautionary measure to prevent Ebola disease.

Ogunniyi, who underscored the need for effective hygiene among all stakeholders in combating Ebola disease, described the transport unions as key integral parts of the society, stressing that it was imperative for them to collaborate with government and relevant agencies in the fight against the EVD.

According to him, “the virus is more contagious among dead bodies than the living being,” saying that the people should desist from moving close to corpses.

In her remark, the state Commissioner for Health, Dr (Mrs) Temitope Ilori, said the essence of the workshop was to teach the officers of the union how to prevent the scourge from getting into the state.

Participants at the workshop included leaders of the NURTW, RTEAN, Cooperative Transport owners, ACOMORON and others.

Rivers APC commends Amaechi for measures

RIVERS State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has expressed satisfaction with the manner the Governor Rotimi Amaechi-led administration has tackled the outbreak of the Ebola virus in the state, urging the people not to panic as the situation is under control.

State chairman of the party, Dr Davies Ikanya, gave the commendation in a statement issued by his media aide, Chief Chukwuemeka Eze, in Port Harcourt, on Tuesday.

According to the APC chairman, “Governor Amaechi did not only declare war on Ebola but has also stepped up and sustained the war against the disease.

“We wish to commend him and his administration on this, while at the same time appealing to people of the state, including visitors, to fully cooperate with the state authorities on measures rolled out to check the spread of the disease,” he said.

He, however, condemned what he described as the surreptitious way the Ebola virus was imported into Rivers State late last month by a diplomat and the awkward way the late Dr Iyke Enemuo decided to treat his Ebola patient in a hotel without reporting the case to the appropriate quarters for immediate action.

“Inasmuch as we do not wish to waste time on spilt milk, the seriousness with which Governor Amaechi intervened to arrest the situation gladdens our heart as a political party.

“As a visionary and focused government, even before the Ebola outbreak in Rivers State, the Amaechi administration had released the sum of N300 million to the state Ministry of Health to use in tackling the virus in case it eventually arrived the state. “Apart from this, the Rivers State government, through the Ministry of Health, planned ahead by approving a temporary quarantine site in Oduoha, Emohua Local Government Area of the State”, the statement read in part.

Red Cross calls for isolation centres in South-East

THE Anambra State Chapter of the Nigerian Red Cross Society has called on the five governors of the South-East states to make available isolation centres in their respective states.

Delivering a lecture at a one-day capacity building workshop at it’s Anambra State headquarters in Awka on Tuesday, the state Vice Chairman, Professor Peter Katchy, said there were scares and anxiety over Ebola virus in the South-East region following a woman who left where she was quarantined in Lagos and ran to visit her family in Enugu.

He called on the people of the South-East to be conscious of whatever they do and ensure that they wash their hands regularly, keep healthy environment, and stop inter state and inter country transportation of corpses as directed by the Federal Government.

In his speech, the state Chairman of the society and former Chief Judge of Anambra State, Justice Paul Obidigwe, said the society had procured preventive materials.