NLC urges FG to fight Boko Haram like Ebola

President of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Abdulwaheed Omar yesterday challenged the Federal Government to double its fight against Boko Haram insurgency in the manner it has tackled the issue of the deadly Ebola virus disease (EVD) so far in the country.

Speaking at a one-day sensitisation
on prevention of EVD in the
workplace, organised by National
Union of Textile, Garment and
Tailoring Workers of Nigeria
(NUTGTWN), Omar commended
the Federal Government’s efforts
to stop the spread of the virus.

"I think if the Federal Government should fight Boko Haram the way it is fighting Ebola, then the insurgency would have ended since. So, I call on the government to be as proactive to Boko Haram as it has done to Ebola," he said.

The NLC president urged the
government to re-direct more of
such energy and resources towards bringing an end to the Boko Haram insurgency.

Earlier, the General Secretary of
NUTGTWN, Issa Aremu, who is also
the vice president of NLC, said
there was need for continuous
enlightenment and sensitisation on the Ebola virus, explaining that
the workshop was to enlighten
members of the labour force
about the disease and how to
prevent it.

“As deadly as the Ebola virus
disease is, we should not forget
that there are other diseases like
malaria, polio and cholera, which
have cure but are still rampant in
the country. Thus, as we battle
with the deadly Ebola virus
disease, we should do more with
other diseases with known
treatment/prevention. It is all
about good healthcare and good
governance."

"We commend the recent
resolution of the crisis in the
health sector that led to the
calling off of the strike by doctors under Nigeria Medical Association (NMA). We are also impressed that the Federal Government has withdrawn the earlier sack order of the doctors."

"The truth is that we cannot
resolve the numerous health
challenges, particularly the threat
posed by the Ebola virus disease
(EVD) if we continue to have crisis
in the health sector. The doctors
must be on duty and also look at
their strategy for welfare
improvement beyond the most
predictable and increasingly
unhelpful endless work stoppages."

"Government itself must provide
health workers with the necessary tools, including insurance covers, to deal with the latest menace of
Ebola," he said.

Delivering a paper entitled: Ebola
Virus Disease: What We Need to
Know, Dr. Sani Gwarzo, who is a
director, Port Health Services,
Federal Ministry of Health, urged
the leadership of the labour union
to put in place a work plan and
response team, to checkmate the
spread of Ebola, particularly in
their immediate environment.

SUN