President Goodluck Jonathan on Monday, October 27, 2014 stated that there was not reason for the stigmatisation of Nigerians all over the world as a result of the Ebola virus, adding that there can never be any foundation for such stigmatisation as the country curtailed the virus and it did not read epidemic proportions.
President Jonathan made the assertion while playing host to the French Foreign Minister, Laurent Fabius and his German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The President, who was quoted via a press statement released by his special adviser on media and publicity, Reuben Abati, said henceforth that Nigerians should be exempted from the “discriminatory checks and stigmatisation” abroad as the World Health Organisation (WHO) had declared the country Ebola-free.
The statement read in part, “The President maintained that there was never any justifiable basis for the stigmatisation of Nigerians since Ebola was rapidly contained in the country and never attained epidemic levels.
“He told the French Foreign Minister, Mr. Laurent Fabius, and the German Foreign Minister, Dr. Frank-Walter Steinmeier that Nigeria will remain fully vigilant to prevent the re-entry of the virus because the Federal Government recognises that the country will remain at risk as long as Ebola is active in other West African countries or any other part of the world.
“Nigeria, President Jonathan assured the visiting ministers, will therefore cooperate fully with other concerned nations to stop the current outbreak of Ebola in West Africa as quickly as possible. The ministers told the President that they were in Nigeria to seek further cooperation with the Federal Government in the growing global effort to contain the current outbreak and continuing spread of the Ebola Virus Disease.”
