Rivers State Releases N300 Million For Ebola Fight

The Rivers State Government has allocated over N300 million for the fight against the Ebola virus.

This was revealed by the state Governor, Rotimi Amaechi on Tuesday, September 2, 2014 when the Country Director of the World Health Organisation in Nigeria, Mr. Rui Vaz, visited him at the Government House in Port Harcourt, the state capital.

According to Punch, Amaechi said:

“Whatever it takes for us to overcome Ebola, please, I will do it because it costs more if Ebola is on the loose than if it is contained.

“So, we are happy that the World Health Organisation is here to assist Rivers State. We are happy that the World Health Organisation appreciates the dangers of Ebola to our communities.

“We need to contain Ebola.  If there is no cure, then there is containment so that more persons don’t contract it. The Rivers State Government is prepared to take all the responsibility.  The citizens are ours.”

He, however, urged politicians in the state against politicising the Ebola outbreak and added that his resolve was to protect the lives of the people of the state.

According to him, “They cannot be talking about politics in the midst of Ebola. We are talking about lives. For me, I am the governor of Rivers State.

“I am elected to protect the lives of Rivers people and to ensure that they are alive.  That is my responsibility to the people of the State.”

Rivers recorded its first case of Ebola when a doctor, Iyke Sam Enemuo died after being infected by ECOWAS diplomat, Olu-Ibukun Koye, who came in contact with index case, Patrick Sawyer.