NBA Promises Ebola free annual Conference The President of Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Okey Wali (SAN), said yesterday that this year NBA annual conference slated for Owerri the Imo state Capital between August 24 and 27 will hold despite appeals to the body to postpone it due to the outbreak of Ebola Virus Disease(EVD)in Nigeria. He said that arrangements for Ebola hitch free conference have been concluded in collaboration with Imo state Commissioner for Health who has assured him of safety of the participants by forwarding to NBA ten measures already put in place to avert any disease scare. Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC),Prof. Chidi Anselem Odinkalu had on Monday called on NBA to postpone its Annual Conference due to the outbreak of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in Nigeria. Odinkalu, whose call was contained in a press statement maintained that it will be ill-judged to continue with the conference in the circumstances of the present public health emergency prevailing in the country. The NHRC Chairman, who disclosed that he has been under observation for Ebola, also advised the NBA in the interim to conduct at a modest ceremony at the association Secretariat in Abuja to inaugurate the new leadership of the NBA. According to him, “the NBA Conference is usually a very large gathering. Its venues usually attract well in excess of 20,000 participants, traders and visitors. It’s an excellent market place for a virus in search of vectors. “I am a scheduled speaker at the Owerri Conference. I have also been a person under observation for Ebola because as an out-patient I was attended on 21 July by one of the doctors in Lagos who managed the index case, i.e., on the day after he was admitted. “The NBA has no way of knowing this and has made no effort to elicit this kind of information from any of the participants. I have decided that I will not go to Owerri. As an act of responsible citizenship, I would also urge as many intending participants as possible to consider withdrawing from the Owerri conference But, Wali (SAN) listing measures taken by NBA to ensure Ebola free conference at a press briefing in Abuja, said the association has purchased hand bacterial and viral sanitizers for every participants for use throughout the conference. It also purchased Latex gloves and masks for conference service providers deployed to man registration, Marshalls. Non-contact laser guns for temperature monitoring and screening of participants. The measures also include public installed, Standing dispensing non- contact hand sanitizers in selected public places,with refills. Dettol Anti-bacterial hand wash for the various rest rooms and mobile toilets. He said that NBA has secured the collaboration and services of Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Imo state chapter to provide ambulances, equipment and personnel. It is also Partnering FAAN and Aviation ministry for Airport screening and surveillance. Wali SAN said that Imo State is not one of the states that have been flagged as location where potential Ebola victims have been sited. He urged participants to ignore argument that the large number of participants was a potential ground for the Ebola Virus. According to him, It is on record that that ever since the outbreak of Ebola,there have been larger gathering of people in Churches, Mosques,Religious Crusades,Political rallies which are much higher in number than 2000 persons that attend NBA conference session at a time.
Posted on: Wed, 20 Aug 2014 09:53:29 +0000
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