President Goodluck Jonathan has pleaded with the Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT) and other unions to listen to government and resume work on Monday the 22nd of September.
Speaking to journalists he said the NUT should resume on the 22nd of September because the Ebola issue is under control. He said necessary equipments and gadgets at the nation’s airport have been put in place to stop the disease from finding its way into the nation. He also said making schools not resume because of Ebola would make Nigerian travelers to be seen as Ebola victims as it would send wrong signal to other countries.
He says the world has seen how well they are defeating the virus and he wants the whole world to know about their total defeat over the disease.
He said, “In fact Osun State was to have their festival and the news came to me to cancel it I said no, Ebola is no longer a threat in Nigeria and we must tell the world that we have been able to contained Ebola.
“Yes, Ebola is in the West Coast, it could happen in Ghana, it could happen in Senegal or any of the West African countries or beyond but they have not closed down their institutions. If we still have Ebola definitely we will not open any of our institutions but we don’t have Ebola.”
He also said, “I dare ask is NUT saying that until the world is able to end Ebola in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone before Nigeria should open our institutions? It is not right. Government is not a fool, it is not any labor body that asked us to take that decision, we took it because we felt that we must protect our citizens.
“This is one government that discusses with anybody that has issues to discuss. Even NUT has no reason to threaten industrial action because of Ebola, the governors took that decision. I called all the governors of the states to come with their commissioners of health.
“On the day of that meeting I did not even allow them to speak because they will play politics. I asked all the commissioners including the Secretary of Health in Abuja, to brief us on the steps they have taken and they listened to their colleagues because it was also a peer review process.
“If you are hiding certain things by the time you hear your colleagues you will go back and get things done. We are sure that even if one mad Sawyer comes again, nobody will contract Ebola. We have managed Ebola very well, the world is happy. We must tell the world that no Nigerian should be suspected of Ebola and that is the position of government.”
Pleading with the NUT, he said, “I will plead with NUT and other unions that this does not require industrial action. They should commend government, they should work with us, they are Nigerians, all Nigerians must work together to make sure that we contain Ebola. Why do we want to create problems where it is not necessary, it is uncalled for.”
He spoke to both the Lagos state governor and the Rivers state governor for their commendable efforts in containing the disease in their states.
AIT.
