Ebola: LASG pledges N50m to First Consultants


Jide Idris, Lagos State Commissioner for Health
The Lagos State Government has promised to give N50m to
First Consultant Hospital, Obalende, where the index Ebola
Virus Disease case was diagnosed.
The government said the N50m was a business support
gesture for the medical centre.
The state government also said it would be extending a
similar gesture to each of the victims of the disease.
The Commissioner for Health, Dr. Jide Idris, said this at a
press conference in Lagos on Monday.
He noted that the gesture should not be mistaken for
compensation but should rather be seen as a goodwill in view
of what the victims had passed through.
He said, “Having addressed the human angle in containing the
outbreak, there is now the need to address the economic
consequences. Under consideration are the following: Support
to the affected persons including those alive and N50m lump
sum as business support gesture to the First Consultants
Medical Centre.
“This is with a view to getting people and businesses back on
their feet and for businesses to re-secure patronage of their
customers. It needs to be clearly stated that this is not an
attempt at compensation but a gesture of goodwill on the
part of government.”
Idris added that the state government would inaugurate a 24-
hour Ebola Surveillance Team to deal with any Ebola
emergency should any case arise again.
He said, “The Ebola Virus Disease Team will be on 24/7
standby with an ambulance as well as an EVD clinician team
leader and a driver. Five of such teams will be available. A
decontamination team consisting of at least a driver, two
environmental health officers and a supervisor will also be
created. Two of such teams will be available.”
Speaking against the backdrop of the declaration by the World
Health Organisation that Nigeria is now Ebola free, the
commissioner said the feat was made possible through a
combination of factors such as a well-established structure
and laws that had been put in place by the Lagos State
Government long before Ebola broke out in the country.