President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan Wednesday in Abuja condemned the stigmatization of Nigerians by some countries over recent cases of the Ebola Virus Disease in the country.
Speaking at a meeting with Mr. David Navarro, a Special Envoy of the United Nations Secretary-General, President Jonathan particularly denounced discriminatory actions such as that which forced Nigeria’s team to the Youth Olympics in China to abandon its participation.
Noting that there was no
justification for such stigmatization of Nigerians since the Ebola Virus
Disease had been effectively contained
in the country and never attained epidemic levels, the President called for the
cessation of discriminatory actions against Nigerians over the virus and urged
the UN Secretary General, Mr. Ban Ki
Moon to support the call.
Responding to the Secretary
General’s commendation of Nigeria’s management of the threat of Ebola,
President Jonathan praised the Federal Ministry of Health, the Lagos State
Government and all Nigerians for the success achieved so far in containing the
virus and avoiding a national epidemic.
“All hands have been on deck to
contain the virus here. I commend my team and the Lagos State Government. We
have been able to set politics aside and work in unison to deal with a national
threat.
“All other Nigerians have
played a part too by complying with the directives and advice we have issued to
stop the virus from spreading any further. The success we have had is a
testimony to what we can achieve as people if we set aside our differences and
work together,” he told Mr. Navarro.
The President assured the
Special Envoy that in spite of the seeming success of its containment measures, the Federal
Government and its agencies will remain vigilant to guard against further cases
of Ebola in the country.
“We will continue to monitor
the situation and we will also support other affected African countries as much
as we can because we cannot be completely safe from the virus as long as it
continues to ravage some countries in our sub-region and continent. We will
continue to work with the international community to curb the outbreak in other
countries,” President Jonathan pledged.
Mr. Navarro who had visited Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone, the
countries worst hit by Ebola before coming to Nigeria, told the President that
he had come, on the instruction of the UN Secretary-General, to applaud Nigeria’s
successful containment of the virus.
“The Secretary-General asked me
to come here too, not because you have an Ebola problem, but because you have tackled
it in an exemplary fashion.
“Your personal leadership on
the matter has been key. There may still be some work to be done before the
virus is completely cleared out from here, but other countries can learn from
your fine example,” Mr. Navarro told the President.
Reuben
Abati
Special
Adviser to the President
(Media
& Publicity)
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