THE Federal Government has warned against unnecessary euphoria over the apparent containment of the Ebola virus disease in the country, noting that while it was necessary to be cautiously optimistic, the danger was however not yet over.

This was the advice of Ministers of Information and Health, Mr Labaran Maku and Professor Onyebuchi Chukwu, respectively, while addressing State House correspondents at the end of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting presided over by President Goodluck Jonathan in Abuja, on Wednesday.

According to Professor Chukwu, until the one patient currently under treatment and a number of others under surveillance were certified free of the disease, the danger could not be said to be over for the country.

“Let me just say that I don’t want us in Nigeria to move from panic to euphoria. The media has been working so well with us and we commend them for that, but some of the headlines today (Wednesday) suggest that you may push the public to euphoria which again will be a problem.

“Yes, Nigeria is doing well on containment. Containment is like you have got an animal into a cage, but it is not yet dead. But at least, you know where to now concentrate than when that animal was roaming. That is what we have achieved.

“We now know where the disease is in Nigeria. All of them so far in Nigeria have been traced to Mr Patrick Sawyer. But we know there is nothing stopping someone coming with a fresh case from anywhere in the world.

“But for now, we are happy. Thanks to the surveillance and thanks also to providence, it is only the one brought by Mr Sawyer now that we have to deal with.

“That’s why we say Nigeria has been successful with containment. But have we eliminated the disease? No. Because as we speak, there is a case we are still managing and that case must also have had its own third degree contacts, apart from the number of people still under surveillance.

“So, until we give a clean bill of health to every contact, we cannot really say that we have eliminated the disease,” Chukwu warned.

The health minister, who had earlier given FEC an update on the war against Ebola in the country, in line with the instruction of the president for weekly report, maintained that 13 cases had been reported till date in the country.

He asserted that as of Wednesday, five were dead, including four Nigerians; seven managed successfully and discharged, while one person remained under treatment.

Maku, in his remarks, said the council dwelt mainly on issues of health and power, noting that the Minister of Health brought a memorandum for the establishment of legal framework for about 21 Federal Medical Centres (FMCs) across the country, to enhance their performance and operations.

Consequently, the council approved a draft bill and directed the Ministers of Justice and Health to work out the details.

Throwing more light on the draft bill, the Health minister said the law was necessary because there had been no specific act governing the operations of the medical centres, which had relied on laws of teaching hospitals, even when they were not the same thing.

He explained that the bill was for an Act to establish FMCs with uniform functions, managerial and administrative structures to provide tertiary healthcare services in support of healthcare services within areas of operation and for connected matters.

According to him, “since the establishment of the FMCs, no Act has been enacted for them as they have been operating under the Act establishing the teaching hospitals; University Hospitals Act of 1985 CAP 463, with attendant difficulties and challenges in its application.

Meanwhile, the council has approved the award of contract for engineering design, manufacture, supply, construction testing and commissioning of Onitsha -Ifitedunu 132 KV transmission line in favor of Messrs Sinotec-CCC international joint venture in the sum of $5,992,974.24 plus N1,141,865, 028.73, inclusive of N271,912,872.12 for five per cent VAT and 10 per cent contingency, with a completion period of 24 months.

The council also approved the award of contract for engineering design, manufacture, supply, construction testing and commissioning of 2x60 MVA, 132/33KV substation at Ifitedunu and 2x 132 line bays extension at Onitsha in favor of Messrs MBH Power limited in the sum of $8,315,264.53 plus N864, 274, 352.96, inclusive of N431, 852,916.28 for the right of way compensation, five per cent VAT and 10 per cent contingency with a completion period of 24 months.

Maku said that the Coordinating Minister of the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, announced that donations were coming in from friends of Nigeria for the Safe Schools Initiative, including about N1.5 billion from the Norwegian government; African Development Bank President, $1million; British government, £1 million, while the German government is processing a contribution of €2million.

He expressed government’s gratitude to the donors and appealed to well meaning Nigerians and organisations to contribute generously to the fund.