Nigeria’s Minister of state for education,  Nyesom Wike,Minister of State for Education has dismissed apprehension being raised about hosting a mega rally tomorrow in Port Harcourt, the Rivers  state capital where an  outbreak of Ebola disease has been declared after the death of a medical doctor.

Wike said  all the red-flag raising over the rally by the opposition All Progressives Congress, the state government  and some members of the public was misplaced.

He said people opposed to the rally were scared of  the large support for President Goodluck Jonathan in the zone.

In a press statement, a group that styled itself the Buhari Vanguard had reminded the organisers of the rally about new rules handed out by the Federal Government  banning the holding  of large public gathering, either religious or political even in states where the Ebola virus has not been recorded. The rules have made churches and other public institutions  suspend public gatherings.

“However, it has come to our notice that a pro-Jonathan political organization and mobilization group for the 2015 presidential election has scheduled a mass rally in Portharcourt the Rivers state capital for Saturday, the 30^th of August, 2014. The rally being organized by Transformation Ambassadors of Nigeria TAN is to hold at the Liberation Stadium by 10 am. The rally will bring together people from all the states in the South South comprising Bayelsa, Delta, Akwa Ibom, Edo, Cross River and Rivers state to Port Harcourt.

“We urge President Goodluck Jonathan to immediately instruct the Transformation Ambassadors of Nigeria TAN to suspend the scheduled rally until the Ebola Virus is successfully curtailed in Rivers state and other parts of Nigeria. Mr President is the chief custodian of the law in Nigeria and it will be ridiculous for the Chief custodian of the law to break the laws he has made without recourse.”, the group chairman, Jasper Azuatalam said.

TAN had also held rallies in Kaduna and Ibadan for President Jonathan’s imminent declaration for 2nd term.