Aftermath of Ebola: Lagos assures investors, tourists of safety

With the deadly Ebola virus disease (EVD) gone, Lagos State government, on Wednesday, reassured tourists, visitors and investors, especially those in the hospitality industry of safety, saying the state remains unmatched investment destination.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) declared Nigeria Ebola-free on October 20, after about three months of the country’s battle with the deadly disease which is still ravaging some parts of West Africa including Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea.

Lagos, Nigeria’s economic hub was at the centre of the battle against the disease which was brought to the state on July 20, 2014 by late Patrick Sawyer, a Liberian-American citizen who at the time was working with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

Addressing diplomats, investors, local and foreign journalists on Wednesday at the an event tagged, ‘Lagos Welcomes Visitors’, held at the Oriental Hotel in Lagos, Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, the deputy governor, who represented Governor Babatunde Fashola, said all was well and investors are welcomed after the successful containment of the EVD.

She said even before importation of Ebola virus into the state, the government had put in place measures that helped it contain the virus and prevent its spread.

“Despite that we did not expect Ebola in our state, we rose to the occasion and ensured that the disease is stamped out of the state and indeed Nigeria. Lagos being the economic nerve centre of the country and the most populous state in the nation is aware of the importance of capacity.

“We have over the years built our capacity to attend to any emergency knowing that Lagos belongs to all of us because we are conscious of the social contract we had with the people of the state, just as we are committed to good governance. The state more than ever before is safe and secure for visitors and tourists because it has always been our objective to make Lagos a city where all can live and work,” she said.