Among the nominees are former minister for defence, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, former national treasurer of the now defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Kenneth Kobani and former senator Patricia Akwashiki.

Mr. Obanikoro was one of the biggest casualties of the gubernatorial primaries of the Peoples Democratic Party [PDP], after resigning his ministerial position on October 15 to vie for the party’s ticket in Lagos for the 2015 election.
He lost to Jimi Agbaje, a relatively less known candidate, who had the backing of the party’s most powerful leaders in Lagos.

Alongside Mr. Obanikoro, former ministers Emeka Wogu, Labaran Maku, Onyebuchi Chukwu, and Samuel Ortom, also lost their bids after leaving their posts to contest in their respective states.

Mr. Obanikoro rejected the Lagos results and filed a legal challenge against the declaration of Mr. Agbaje as winner, kicking off a row that has the potential to ruin any chances the party may have in snatching Lagos from All Progressives Congress, APC in 2015.

The logjam was finally been resolved amicably after President Goodluck Jonathan assured Mr. Obanikoro he would reappoint him to cabinet as part of a deal personally brokered by the President to get him to discontinue his legal challenge of the PDP governorship primary result for Lagos State.

Mr. Obanikoro later withdrew his court case, at the same time promising to fully support Mr. Agbaje as the PDP candidate.

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Chukwu himself told journalists in Abuja on Thursday that the doctor contacted the disease after treating a patient who came in contact with Patrick Sawyer, the Liberian-American who brought Ebola to Nigeria.

According to the minister, the patient after experiencing some symptoms, went for treatment. “This primary contact of Sawyer’s evaded our surveillance team in the last week of July 2014 and travelled out of Lagos to Port Harcourt where, as we now understand, he consulted with a doctor and was apparently treated for some symptoms,” he said.

“After four days, following a manhunt for him, he returned to Lagos by which time he was found to be without symptoms. The same was, however, not the case for the doctor who treated him as he got infected and finally died on August 22.

“Following the report of this death by the doctor’s widow the next day, the case had been thoroughly investigated and laboratory analysis showed that this doctor died from EVD,” the minister said.

“As a result, several contacts have now been traced, registered and placed under surveillance. However, because the widow is now symptomatic, she has been quarantined pending the outcome of laboratory tests on her.”

Though the minister did not mention the name of the doctor, He however, said the wife of the doctor has been quarantined and 70 other contacts have since been traced and placed under surveillance in Port Harcourt.

He appealed to residents under surveillance in Port Harcourt to abide by the advice given to them by health officials. He urged other residents not to panic, saying the Nigerian government is in full control of the situation.

The diplomat treated by the doctor is believed to be among those who met Sawyer on his arrival in Lagos. He then flew to Port Harcourt where he took ill and was treated at an unnamed hotel in the Rivers state capital.

Sources said that the doctor’s hospital, Good Heart Hospital, as well as the hotel where he treated the diplomat, have been shut down, reports say.

The doctor’s death brings to six the number of people that have died of Ebola in Nigeria. The first five, including Mr. Sawyer, died in Lagos.

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Chukwu, said in a statement on Friday morning that the new cases are spouses of the primary contacts of the index case, Patrick Sawyer, the Liberian-American who brought the virus to Nigeria.

He said the new cases are the first secondary contacts to test positive to the deadly virus that has killed five people in Nigeria.

The secondary contacts had been under surveillance since the outbreak of the disease in Nigeria, the minister added.

This now brings to four the total number of Ebola Virus Disease patients currently under treatment at the isolation ward.

This also means that the total number of cases of Ebola Virus Disease so far reported in the country is fourteen, while the number of deaths still remains five and the number of those successfully managed and discharged also stands at five.

The minister said that the Federal Government, working with the Lagos State Government and other partners, will continue to maintain vigilance, continue to strengthen our containment activities, and wishes to reassure the Nigerian public and the global community that efforts will not relent until the very last case of the Ebola Virus Disease is seen in Nigeria.

At a press conference in Lagos Wednesday, Jide Idris, the state’s Health Commissioner, had told journalists that five new suspected Ebola virus cases were brought to the isolation ward of the Yaba Mainland Hospital in Lagos on Tuesday.

Dr. Idris added that two of those five cases were from secondary contacts linked to the Liberian-American, Patrick Sawyer, who brought the virus to Nigeria.

“Till date, we have recorded eight suspected cases, five of which came in yesterday (Tuesday), 12 confirmed,” said Mr. Idris. “On the whole, five have died (including the index case). We are currently following up 213 contacts, and 62 have completed the two-day follow-up.”

But barely two hours after the press conference ended, the Health Minister issued a terse statement telling the public to “disregard” Idris’ figures.

“The Honourable Minister of Health, Onyebuchi Chukwu, wishes to reiterate that at present, Nigeria has only two confirmed cases of Ebola Virus Disease,” Chukwu said in a statement by Dan Nwomeh, his Special Assistant on Media and Communication.

It is however not clear whether the two new cases are part of those Commissioner Idris announced.

Nigeria was free of Ebola until July 20 when Sawyer arrived. He became terribly ill on his flight and was rushed to the First Consultant Hospital Obalende, Lagos, where he died on July 24.

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Adadevoh, a consultant endocrinologist, was the first Nigerian to be diagnosed with the disease.

The Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu, in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Communication, Dan Nwomeh, announced Adadevoh’s demise on Tuesday evening.

“We regret to announce the death of one of the primary contacts of the index case, the most senior doctor who participated in the management of the patient, a female consultant physician, with this unfortunate development the total number of Ebola virus related deaths now stand at five,” the terse statement read.

The late Adadevoh was a Consultant Physician and Endocrinologist, and a member of the Nigerian Medical Association and the British-Nigerian Association.

She obtained her MBBS degree from the University of Lagos, Akoka as well as a Diploma in Endocrinology from the University of London.

She was a Fellow of the National Postgraduate Medical College. The late Adadevoh practised in the United Kingdom and Nigeria for more than three decades.

As of the time she encountered the Liberian-American, Patrick Sawyer, on July 20, she was the Lead Consultant at the First Consultants Medical Centre Lagos, where the man who brought the dreaded Ebola Virus Disease was admitted.

The death of the medical practitioner reinforces the concern over the safety of health workers in the crusade against the killer disease.

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The Minister of Health, Onyebuchi Chukwu, in a statement on Monday, said the discharged patients have now being confirmed to be Ebola free.

Though the identities of the survivors were not disclosed, Chukwu said three of the patients – two male doctors and a female nurse – participated in the treatment of the index case, Patrick Sawyer, while the fourth patient was a female patient at the First Consultant Hospital at the time Sawyer was on admission.

Sawyer, a Liberian-American, escaped surveillance in Monrovia, and came into Nigeria on July 20 with the deadly Ebola virus but later died at First Consultant on July 24.

Following the importation of the disease, 11 people have tested positive to the disease out of which four people have died, including the index case, thus brings the number of discharged persons to five.

One of the patients, who tested positive to the virus was discharged on Saturday, after she was declared Ebola free.

Chukwu had earlier indicated that more than half of the patients being treated were responding to treatment, stating that all the persons under surveillance were secondary contacts.

“All the patients under treatment have now moved to the new 40-bed capacity isolated ward provided by the Lagos State Government. Additional equipment has also been made available to the new isolating ward by the Federal Government,” the minister said.

The minister also said that the Nano silver drug which was made available to the Emergency Operations Centre in Lagos on Aug. 14, did not meet basic research requirements.

“The experimental drug, Nanosilver, did not meet the requirements of the National Health Research Ethics Code. Accordingly, approval was withheld by the National Health Research Ethics Committee. Other candidate drugs are being evaluated by the Treatment Research Group of Ebola Disease.

“As soon as any of the experimental drugs is cleared by the National Health Research Ethics Committee and is made available, we shall include it in the treatment regimen subject to the informed consent of the patient.’’

The minister also debunked speculations that there are Ebola cases in Imo, Abia and Cross River States, adding that the case of the disease in Kwara was still under investigation.

“The mother of the child in Kwara tested negative and we are still investigating the child. Also, the corpse in Anambra was embalmed and we are awaiting result of the test.

“All the mortuary attendants who had contact with the corpse tested negative, so there is no need to panic’’, he said.

On the suspension of resident doctors’ training by the Federal Government, Chukwu said there had been problems with the training which also informed the ongoing doctors’ strike.

According to the minister, the suspension is with all federal government hospitals, adding that states’ teaching hospitals were not affected.

“The government suspended the training to allow for critical investigation and come up with better ways to improve the training.”

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The FDA’s warning comes on the heels of comments by Nigeria’s top health minister, Onyebuchi Chukwu, who reportedly said earlier Thursday that eight Ebola patients in Lagos will receive an experimental treatment called nano-silver.

Erica Jefferson, a spokeswoman for the FDA, said she could not provide any information about the product referenced by the Nigerians. The FDA did not specify any products in its warning.

Silver has been used as an antibacterial for centuries. Tiny silver particles known as nano-silver have controversially been incorporated into a variety of consumer products such as socks and bedding to help block odors caused by bacteria and mold.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency considers nano-silver a pesticide. Manufacturers of products that contain it must register them with the agency.

Nano-silver is also sometimes sold online as a dietary supplement even though Danish researchers found in a recent study that nano-silver can penetrate and damage cells.

The FDA regulates dietary supplements and said in its statement that “by law, dietary supplements cannot claim to prevent or cure disease.”

The agency said it had received consumer complaints about the Ebola claims.

“Individuals promoting these unapproved and fraudulent products must take immediate action to correct or remove these claims or face potential FDA action,” the agency said.

The Ebola outbreak ravaging West Africa has claimed 1,069 lives so far. Most have been in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia. Nigeria has confirmed 10 cases of the disease and four deaths.

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The nurse, who had been at the B Ward – a male ward which is now referred to as Ebola Ward – of the Yaba Mainland General Hospital, died in the early hours of Thursday.

By 1 p.m., Thursday, a couple of family relatives who are at the hospital were seen wiping away tears and making telephone calls.

Jide Idris, the state Commissioner for Health, who was at the hospital declined to confirm the development to when asked by our correspondent.

The death of the nurse brings to four the number of people who have died of the virus in Nigeria.

News of the passing of the nurse came as the Minister of Health, Onyebuchi Chukwu, disclosed at a news conference in Abuja that another of the doctors who treated the late Patrick Sawyer has tested positive to the deadly virus.

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Late Sawyer flew in to Lagos en-route a trip to Calabar for an official assignment but fell ill in the aircraft.

The Minister of Health, Onyebuchi Chukwu, also said that eight persons that had first degree contact with the Liberian before he got to the hospital had also been quarantined and are under strict observation.

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The Minister of Health, Onyebuchi Chukwu at a briefing in Abuja said that the 69 people were on surveillance due to their direct or indirect contact with the Liberian- American, Patrick Sawyer, who died from the deadly disease.

Sawyer died last Thursday in a Lagos hospital after he came into Nigeria from Liberia via Asky Airline. His sister was also said to have died of the disease in Liberia.

The increase in the number of people under surveillance rises after government’s statement in the past week that 59 people were under watch.

Chukwu said the other two people will remain quarantined for at least three weeks, the long period he said will enable any manifestation of the disease infection.

The virus manifests between two to 21 days which is its incubation period.

The minister said health officials are “still searching” for others who might have had contact with the late Mr. Sawyer; including colleagues and those who flew with him.

He listed those on surveillance to include Mr. Sawyer’s colleagues who travelled to Calabar, Cross River State and hospital staff who treated him before his death.

He also said the Lagos hospital where the deceased died, First Consultant in Obalende, is being decontaminated.
“State governments are identifying isolation sites beyond the capacity they had before,” Chukwu said.

The minister, however, said that the Nigerian borders still remain open with travellers being screened. He also advised the general public to remain conscious of their personal hygiene by regular washing of hands.

He also recommended the use of sanitizers in public buildings to help reduce the sources of contamination.

Since the death of Sawyer, a presidential committee on communication to manage public knowledge about Ebola, is said to have met three times.

A national call centre which was to be launched in two weeks might become operational earlier than planned to handle toll-free calls for questions and information about the disease.

Also speaking, the Minister of Information, Labaran Maku, told journalist to exhibit professionalism in their reportage. He also raised concerns on the possible misinformation through the use of social media to create panic among citizens.

“The concern is not that Ebola is out there, but we want to prevent it. There is no rule about Ebola that is different from preventing other diseases—just hygiene.

“This war on Ebola will be won more by media reports than by what doctors do, only one case [Sawyer] has been reported but we are taking every measure to ensure it remains only at that one,” Maku said.

He said media organisations will be expected to publish and broadcast public-health jingles expected from the Ebola communication committee and the health ministry while private owned media organisations are expected to see their role as being in national interest.

The briefings are expected to become regular, alongside a communication centre, as Nigeria battles to keep Ebola under control.

The epicentre of the virus is Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone where more than 1200 people have been infected so far with the deadly virus with over 700 deaths. There is no drug or vaccine to treat the virus that has an over 60 per cent fatality

Ebola is said to be transmitted from fruit bats and apes to humans who hunt them for food and is further spread to other humans when they come in contact with the blood or body fluid of an infected person.

Symptoms include fever, headache, chills, diarrhoea, nausea, vomiting, sore throat, backache, and joint pains. Later symptoms include bleeding from the eyes, ears and nose, bleeding from the mouth and rectum, eye swelling, swelling of the genitals and bloody rashes all over the body.

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Jonathan who spoke after he visited the scene of the explosion and a hospital where survivors are being treated, said that “The perpetrators of this, those who are directly involved and those who sponsor them will surely be brought to book.

The president also asked Nigerians to be prepared for some inconvenience that may be caused by improved security operations.

“I will use this opportunity to continue to plead with our citizens that under such situation, security operatives will come up with different options that sometimes will create some inconvenience for us,” he said.

“Instead of condemning them, let us bear. We all bear some pains, from the highest to the least; because as a President, I may not go to everywhere I would have loved to go, these are some of the challenges I have to face.”

“Even for our citizens, under such condition, we have reached some level of restrictions and some pains. Instead of shouting and insulting security operatives, let’s give them maximum cooperation, give them relevant information. All countries that face terror suffer the same thing; citizens give maximum cooperation to the security operatives and help to contain and control, surely we will get over this,” he added.

Jonathan, who returned to the country, Thursday, after cutting short his trip to Malabo, Equatorial Guinea for the 23rd Ordinary Session of the African Union’s Summit of Heads of State and Government, was accompanied by the Minister of Health, Onyebuchi Chukwu, and other top government officials.

The president, who addressed journalists after visiting the Maitama General Hospital, said it is “quite regrettable and extremely painful that when some Nigerians are struggling, thinking about how to contribute to nation development, working very hard to take care of their families, train their children, others are busy planning to kill people, intimidate people, destroy peoples’ property.”

He described the period of the attack and others by the Boko Haram insurgent group as “one of the darkest phases in the history of our nation.”

“But surely we will get over it,” Jonathan said, adding that “Some other countries have passed through such cloud before and they were able to overcome it and they were able to sail through. We share the pains of the people who have been directly affected, the pains of their families, but we will surely pass through this ugly phase of our history.”

“We are all mourning. I remember that very day we had a football match to play and all Nigerians were celebrating the Eagles hoping they were going to win. Then, this act came up. I was airborne then, it was when I got down in Malabo that I got the information; surely we will get through this.”

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