Skip to main content

Ebola: NHRC Chair calls for shift of NBA conference


Odiankalu


Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Dr. Chidi Odinkalu has called the postponement of the annual conference of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) scheduled for between August 24 and 29 in Owerri, Imo State in view of the current Ebola disease threat.
Odinkalu who is a scheduled speaker at the conference disclosed in a statement on Sunday that he is under observation for Ebola having been attended to by one of the doctors in Lagos,who managed the index case.
He urged intending participants at the conference to consider withdrawing from attending in view of the possible health risk involved in a gathering of the large number of people attracted annually by the conference.
“I am a scheduled speaker at the Owerri conference. I have also been a person under observation for Ebola because as an out-patient I was attended on July 21 by one of the doctors in Lagos,who managed the index case, i.e., on the day after he was admitted.
“The NBA has no way of knowing this and has made no effort to elicit this kind of information from any of the participants. I have decided that I will not go to Owerri.
“As an act of responsible citizenship, I would also urge as many intending participants as possible to consider withdrawing from the Owerri conference.” Odinkalu said.
He argued that it was incumbent on the NBA‎ to contribute to measures to control and manage the public health emergency caused by the presence of the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in the country by postponing the conference.
He said it would be a wrong decision for the NBA to continue with the conference in the circumstances of the present public health emergency prevailing in the country.
Odinkalu said the NBA, in a bid to avoid leadership vacuum, could swear-in newly elected national officers of the association (which was one of the events planned for the conference) at a less elaborate venue at the NBA office in Abuja.
“The NBA Conference is usually a very large gathering. Its venues usually attract well in excess of 20,000 participants, traders and visitors. It’s an excellent market place for a virus in search of vectors.
“On August 15 the NBA issued a public statement claiming that it ‘is putting adequate anti-Ebola precautions for its members attending the 2014 Annual General Conference in Owerri. It failed to say what these precautions were or who said they were ‘adequate.’
“As a result, participants are not in a position to asses independently what risks they run in attending the conference. The most ‘adequate precaution’ the NBA can take at this time is to defer the conference. It should do so. If the NBA declines, I would urge government at all levels to strongly request it to do so,” Odiankalu

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

COMMUNIQUE OF THE CATHOLIC BISHOPS OF IBADAN ECCLESIASTICAL PROVINCE MEETING AT THE POPE JOHN PAUL II PASTORAL CENTRE, ADO-EKITI FROM 11TH TO 12TH AUGUST, 2014

Preamble We, Bishops of Ibadan Ecclesiastical Province, comprising Ibadan Archdiocese, Ondo, Ekiti, Ilorin, Oyo and Osogbo Dioceses have held our meeting at the Pastoral Institute, Ado Ekiti from 11th till 12th August 2014. We have prayerfully deliberated on matters of pastoral, spiritual, social and political interest and now conclude with the following communique: 1. The Pallium, of the new Archbishop of Ibadan Province We thank God Almighty for the event of the imposition of the pallium, the symbol of the authority of the Metropolitan archbishop, on the new Archbishop of Ibadan, Most Reverend Gabriel ‘Leke Abegunrin on the 29th of June 2014 in Rome by His Holiness, Pope Francis. We thank the large Nigerian delegation that witnessed the occasion and pray that the Archbishop’s tenure witness unprecedented pastoral progress in our Province. 2. The Ebola Epidemic. The Ebola epidemic is a source of worry to all peoples all over the world. We highly commend the government ...
Post a Comment
Read more

CAS Upholds Suarez's 4-Month Ban

Luis Suarez's four-month biting ban is upheld by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, but he is cleared to train. A full explanation of the Court of Arbitration for Sport's ruling will not be published until a later date. Suarez's lawyers argued world governing body FIFA's decision to suspend him from all "football-related activity" for biting Italy's Giorgio Chiellini at the World Cup was excessive. The Uruguay striker, 27, was also banned for nine international matches. Suarez was a Liverpool player at the time of his clash with Chiellini but has since left Anfield to join Barcelona in a £75m deal. Barcelona's La Liga season starts at home to Elche on 24 August. An eight-game ban would have meant Suarez was unavailable until El Classico at Real Madrid on 26 October. At last week's hearing in Lausanne, Suarez's legal team argued he should be allowed to train with Barca during his suspension and that his ban should be limited to internati...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Great Chinese Exodus Many Chinese are leaving for cleaner air, better schools and more opportunity. But Beijing is keeping its eye on them.

A recent report showed that 64% of China's rich are either migrating overseas or have plans to leave the country. Political scientist James To, who has written a book on the subject, tells the WSJ's Deborah Kan how the Chinese government is using propaganda campaigns abroad to ensure loyalty from overseas Chinese. Even when the emperors did their utmost to keep them at home, the Chinese ventured overseas in search of knowledge, fortune and adventure. Manchu Qing rulers thought those who left must be criminals or conspirators and once forced the entire coastal population of southern China to move at least 10 miles inland. But even that didn't put an end to wanderlust. Sailing junks ferried merchants to Manila on monsoon winds to trade silk and porcelain for silver. And in the 19th century, steamships carried ar...
Post a Comment
Read more