For failing to put necessary equipment in schools to prevent the spread of the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD), the Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT) yesterday vowed not to resume work on September 22 as directed by the Federal Government.

The teachers said they would continue to stay away from schools until they have conviction “beyond reasonable doubt” that the government has provided all preventive and protective gadgets such as infra-red thermometers, sanitizers, potable water, gloves and teachers are adequately trained.

NUT National President, Comrade Michael Olukoya, who made the position of the teachers known at a press conference in Abuja yesterday, said only a few states have trained teachers on the EVD.

He lamented that asking teachers to resume without equipping the schools is like asking soldiers to go with bare hands into the Sambisa forest to fight the Boko Haram sect.

Olukoya stated that NUT had written to the Minister of Education asking to be fully involved in all discussions on the EVD and to be allowed to assist in mobilising teachers for the task.

The Union, he said, is yet to be invited for any talks, even though the letter was acknowledged.

“Between now and midnight of Sunday, if you (state chapters) are convinced that your government has purchased and installed all the necessary gadgets, then you should inform the national body. On no account should any chapter deceive the national body,” Olukoya warned.

He noted that apart from postponing the resumption date of primary and secondary schools to October 13, other practical steps need to be taken to protect schools from any Ebola incursion.

Meanwhile, President Goodluck Jonathan has defended the decision of the Federal Government on the September 22 resumption date.

The President, who personally addressed State House correspondents at the Presidential Villa Abuja explained that there was currently no case of Ebola in the country to warrant any extension of holidays. He said that the disease has been effectively contained since there was no need keeping schools closed.

According to President Jonathan, keeping pupils at home and other public institutions closed over Ebola would only send a wrong message to the international community about the situation in the country.

The President explained that government was prepared and has put measures in place to deal with any possible future outbreak of the virus in the country.

“Presently, there is no Ebola case in Nigeria; nobody in Nigeria has the disease now. Most of the people who came down with the disease have recovered.

Out of the 19, we lost seven and the others have recovered, although there are a few people we are still observing.” In another development, the United Nations has said it will need about $1 billion to fight the Ebola outbreak raging in West Africa, warning that 20,000 people could be infected by year end. UN humanitarian chief Valerie Amos yesterday said there was a “huge funding challenge.”

“If not dealt with effectively now, Ebola could become a major humanitarian crisis in countries currently affected,” she told reporters in Geneva.

The capacity of Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia to provide even the most basic necessities was “on the brink of collapse,” she warned. US President Barack Obama yesterday announced US efforts to “turn the tide” in the Ebola epidemic, with plans to order 3,000 US military personnel to West Africa.

US advisors will also train up to 500 health care providers per week in Liberia, according to the plan Obama unveiled in Atlanta.

The United Nations said the response to the crisis will require $987.8 million (763 million euros), with about half needed for the worst-hit country, Liberia.

Its announcement comes amid mounting global alarm over the worst-ever Ebola epidemic, which by Friday had claimed 2,461 lives out of 4,985 cases, according to fresh numbers from the World Health Organisation.

The UN document estimates that some 20,000 people could be infected with Ebola by the end of the year, with Guinea accounting for 16 per cent of infections, Sierra Leone 34 per cent and Liberia a full 40 per cent.