Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State, yesterday, held a sensitisation meeting with market women in the state on precautionary measures to take to stop the spread of the dreaded Ebola Virus Disease in the state.
Speaking at the meeting with the market women in Benin City, Oshiomhole said, “the meeting today is two parts: first, to tell you about the Ebola Disease that was brought from another country to Lagos. We thank God that the disease has not come to Edo State.
“The disease is difficult to manage and so I am advising you as leaders of market women to talk to your members to be wary of whom they shake or embrace because the disease causes serious sickness that can lead to death at short notice”.
He said, “Because of this, it is good that we should know what to do as people travel to different parts of the country. People walk about and we do not know those who are infected. That is why we must be prepared and plan so that if anybody sees any victim, he or she should know what to do.
The Governor said the second part of his sensitisation meeting is to let the market women know the value of the INEC Permanent Voters’ Cards. He said: “the INEC voters’ registration and collection of the Permanent Voters’ Card will soon commence in Edo State. So, I am advising all of you to set outside whatever you may be doing and go to your respective centres as may be designated by INEC officials and make sure you collect your cards because it is your power as the 2015 General Elections draws closer.
“As busy women, some of you may want to procrastinate your collection to a later date. It is risky because the exercise according to INEC will last for three days. So we want to ensure that within those three days, every market woman goes to the designated centres to collect their permanent voters’ card because without that, you cannot vote and if you have the temporary voters card, you will not be allowed to vote”.
He advised the market women leaders to educate their members on the need to swear to an affidavit to enable them get permanent voters card in case their temporal voter’s card has been misplaced.
He however cautioned the market women to jealously guide their Permanent Voters Card from political miscreants who may want to deceive them on the pretext that they are keeping it for them maintaining that the Permanent Voters Card is their power to vote.
Speaking on the effects of the Ebola Virus Disease, the State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Aihanuwa Eregie told the market women leaders that the Ebola Virus has been in existence since 1976.
She said, “the virus can be found in animals like monkey, bat, chimpanzee, etc and hunters who go to the bush to hunt for animals can get in contact with the virus.
She maintained that though the virus is not presently in Edo State, but the need for effective sensitization to alert our people in the state especially the market women who travel from one part of the state to another become necessary.
She highlighted some of the symptoms to include; headache, weakness of the body, waist pain, diarrhoea, vomiting, internal and external bleeding especially bleeding from the gum and advised people to regularly wash their hands as well as ensure general cleanliness of their environments.
Responding on behalf of the representatives of the Market Women from Edo South, the leader of the delegation, Mrs. Blacky Omoregie thanked the Comrade Governor for the sensitization meeting stressing that the market women will respond to the call for personal hygiene and caution.
According to her, “we thank you our Comrade Governor on this very important meeting and I want to assure you that our market women will be enlightened on the need to observe precautionary measures so as to prevent the outbreak of the Ebola Virus Disease in the state as well as ensure that they all collect their permanent voters cards when the time comes.”
