President Bola Tinubu has established a Presidential Task Force on Ebola Virus Disease Preparedness and approved the immediate release of N10bn in emergency intervention funding.

This follows the rapidly expanding outbreak that has already killed at least 349 people across the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda, with the World Health Organisation declaring it a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.

A statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said the task force would be chaired by the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, with membership drawn from relevant ministries, departments and agencies and state representatives.

The N10bn, Onanuga said, will strengthen the operational preparedness of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention and support critical national public health emergency response activities.

The task force was constituted following a stakeholder meeting convened by Gbajabiamila to review Nigeria’s preparedness.

It was attended by representatives from the Ministry of Interior, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, the Nigeria Immigration Service, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority and the Lagos State Government, among others.

According to Onanuga, Tinubu directed the “intensification of passenger screening at all international airports, including enhanced temperature checks and crowd-control protocols, and enhanced monitoring of passengers arriving on high-risk airline routes, including Air Uganda, RwandAir, Air Tanzania, Air Angola, Kenya Airways and Ethiopian Airlines, all carriers with direct or connecting services from the affected region.”

He ordered the immediate activation of referral and isolation centres at Lagos and Abuja international airports, with other airports to follow, and the mandatory activation of QR code-based pre-arrival health declaration systems for passengers originating from or transiting through designated high-risk countries.

The President also directed the disinfection of departure halls, cargo areas, baggage sections and airport facilities as precautionary environmental measures.

Tinubu directed the task force to designate specific airports or terminals for high-risk flights to enable controlled screening and isolation procedures, and to consider adjusting flight timings to minimise interaction between high-risk passengers and other travellers.

He also mandated the group to consult with security, diplomatic and aviation bodies on the possibility of regulating flights from affected and high-risk countries.

The President directed all states hosting international airports and international border corridors, as well as relevant MDAs, to immediately submit their plans, funding requirements and intervention needs for coordinated implementation.

The current outbreak, caused by the Bundibugyo virus, a species of Ebola, was first confirmed in DRC’s Ituri Province on May 15, 2026, and rapidly spread to Uganda after a case was confirmed in Kampala.

As of June 7, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control reported 515 confirmed cases and 91 confirmed deaths, with 283 individuals in isolation.

By May 29, the total suspected case count had risen to 1,037 with 349 deaths.

Unlike earlier-known Ebola strains, there is no licensed vaccine or specific therapeutic agent against the Bundibugyo virus, though early supportive care has been shown to be lifesaving.

Case fatality rates in previous Bundibugyo outbreaks ranged from 30 to 50 per cent.

In 2014, during the West African Ebola epidemic, Nigeria recorded 20 confirmed cases and eight deaths after a Liberian-American diplomat, Patrick Sawyer, arrived at Lagos’s Murtala Muhammed International Airport infected.

punch.ng

FOLLOW US ON:

FACEBOOK

TWITTER

PINTEREST

TIKTOK

YOUTUBE

LINKEDIN

INSTAGRAM

The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, has said former Vice President Atiku Abubakar was among political leaders who supported the adoption of rotational presidency in Nigeria following the annulment of the June 12, 1993, presidential election.

According to the SGF, the annulment of the June 12 election, won by the late Chief MKO Abiola, prompted political leaders to take difficult decisions aimed at preserving national unity and strengthening democracy.

A statement by his Media Aide, Yomi Odunuga, said Akume made the clarification on Tuesday while responding to questions at a World Press Conference in Abuja, as part of activities marking Nigeria’s 27th Democracy Day anniversary.

He recalled that leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party met in Kaduna under the leadership of the late Chief Solomon Lar and Alhaji Adamu Ciroma to deliberate on the country’s political future, with the issue of power rotation featuring prominently.

“It was a tough argument before the issue of rotational presidency was agreed on. At the end, we had to concede. We must do this.

“June 12 annulment had complicated the whole thing. It was finally agreed that we’ll be alternating between North and South.

“Atiku was one of the leaders at that meeting, which was convened by Chief Solomon Lar. He was part of that agreement,” Akume was quoted as saying.

The SGF explained that the decision to alternate presidential power between the North and South was designed to address the political consequences of the annulled election and promote inclusiveness and national cohesion.

Akume’s remarks come amid ongoing political debates over power rotation ahead of the 2027 general election.

Atiku, a northerner and the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress for the 2027 election, is expected to challenge incumbent President Bola Tinubu, who is seeking a second term in office.

Tinubu, a southerner, was elected President in 2023 following the completion of the constitutionally permitted two-term tenure of the late President Muhammadu Buhari, a northerner.

Atiku has been criticised by political rivals and the Presidency for running for the highest office and maintaining future presidential ambitions during election cycles when political consensus favours power rotation to the South.

Reflecting on the significance of June 12, the SGF described the annulment as a painful setback to the democratic aspirations of Nigerians.

“Abiola won that election round and square. That election was annulled by the military government. It was very painful because the people spoke, and they spoke freely. They made their own choice,” he said.

According to him, one of the major lessons from the June 12 experience is the supremacy of the people’s will in a democratic system.

“The first lesson is that the voice of the people must always be supreme; it must be sacrosanct. That’s the beauty of democracy. We prefer the ballot to bullets,” he stated.

Akume expressed confidence in Nigeria’s democratic institutions, particularly the Independent National Electoral Commission, saying the country had learned from the events of 1993 and would never allow a repeat of such an annulment.

“If an election is conducted very fairly, and one wins, no problem. The actors at the Independent National Electoral Commission are not young people; they were adults when this thing happened.

“If we were to take a poll at that time, over two-thirds of Nigerians would have condemned that act of annulment,” he said.

The SGF further commended INEC officials, describing them as men and women of integrity committed to protecting the nation’s democratic process.

“Fortunately for us, those at INEC are men of honour and integrity. They are well-read, patriotic Nigerians, and they are determined to make a difference. Never again would such happen in this country.

“You win, you win. When you lose, go back and prepare for another election. Look at the American example. President Trump lost to Joe Biden. He didn’t bring America down. He went back, prepared and came back and won. That’s the beauty of democracy,” Akume said.

He noted that Nigeria’s 27 years of uninterrupted democratic rule reflected the country’s commitment to democratic governance and freedom.

“We have decided to embrace democracy. That is why, for 27 unbroken years, we have been enjoying this freedom in a democratic setting. We love the values and the morals of democracy, and there is no system that is as beautiful as democracy,” he said.

Akume also highlighted freedom of expression as one of the key benefits of democratic rule.

“It is under a democratic system that you can insult your president and insult anybody and still go to bed, and you don’t receive a midnight knock on your door. Try it under a totalitarian regime,” he stated.

The SGF urged political actors to embrace democratic principles, respect electoral outcomes and continue to strengthen the nation’s democratic culture.

He added that Nigeria’s 27 years of uninterrupted democracy underscored its commitment to the rule of law, freedom of expression and peaceful political participation.