Jonathan, 36 governors to meet on Ebola

The threat of the deadly Ebola virus, which was confirmed on Monday to have infected at least 10 people, has prompted President Goodluck Jonathan to summon an emergency meeting with all 36 governors of the federation and their health commissioners.

The meeting, which is scheduled for the presidential villa on Wednesday, will feature discussions on effective measures of preventing a massive outbreak of the virus across the country.

Ebola has claimed nearly 1, 000 lives in West Africa since Feburary. It was introduced to Nigeria by Mr. Patrick sawyer, a Liberian who came into the country for a conference.

Not only has the virus resulted in two deaths, the panic it has generated has claimed two lives as well. On Friday, two people died after they were misled into believing that consumption of salt could prevent the virus.

Speaking during a conference organised by the Interfaith Initiative For Peace in Abuja, Jonathan vowed that his administration would do its best to prevent the epidemic from spreading across the country.

“As a government, we promise we will do everything possible to contain Ebola,” he said.

“We are doing our best. On Wednesday, I am going to meet with all the governors of the states. They will come with their commissioners for health.

“We must make sure that every state is prepared. Where they lack, the federal government will support them to make sure that they have what it takes to contain Ebola virus.

“It is unfortunate that one crazy man brought the Ebola virus to us, but we have to contain it. This is a good forum that we will use to also plead with our religious leaders,‎ because people listen to you more than they listen to politicians.”

Jonathan had earlier declared a national emergency on Ebola, banning the movement of corpses from one community to the other, or into the country from outside.