Senate supports September 22 school resumption date

The WorldStage News Online reports;

Nigeria’s Senate said on Wednesday that public and private schools should be allowed to resume because the Federal Government has done enough to avoid any further spread of the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in the country, while calling on the Federal Government to immortalise late Dr. Ameyo Adadevoh and others who lost their lives to ensure that the disease (EVD) did not spread in the country.

Following the adoption of a motion entitled “Ebola Virus Disease in Nigeria” sponsored by Senator Ifeanyi Okowa and 106 others, Senate President, David Mark noted that the determination and success achieved in the fight against the EVD epidemic shows that if Nigerians are determined nothing would be impossible to surmount in the country.

He said, “Individually, people were dedicated, they put in their best and collectively we were able to work together to stem further spread of the epidemic.

“There are lessons that have come out and I hope that we have taken them on.”

He said that environmental sanitation and personal hygiene are crucial while “communities must get together whether they are schools or colleges or universities or small communities and organise themselves in such a way that with little assistance from government, they can avoid the spread of the Ebola epidemic and indeed any other epidemic.”

The Senate President noted that Nigerians cannot thank Dr. Ameyo Adadevoh enough because she went out of her way beyond any body’s expectation to control the index of EVD, Patrick Sawyer who would have otherwise done havoc much more beyond our imagination.

He said that the country will do well to honour Adadevoh and indeed other workers in the health industry who sacrificed their lives just to make sure that most of Nigerians are alive.

He added that “We certainly need to commend the Federal Government because they have done a lot and the Lagos State Government who also did a lot to ensure that we don’t allow Ebola to spread beyond what we have seen.

“I agree entirely with you that the way we carry on is as if everybody in this country now is infected with Ebola.

 “We should give ourselves the kudos for doing well and not paint us black before the eyes of the world.”

On the debate whether schools should resume or not resume, he said that the country had done enough to allow schools to resume.

He said, “The private schools and government schools also should make sure that they take precautionary measures before we get all our children back to school. But I think that we have done enough but with a little more efforts the schools should be allowed to resume and make sure that when they resume we don’t let down our guards. It is not over yet, but I believe that we have done enough to avoid any further spread of the Ebola Virus Disease.”