Ebola Alert: Tinubu Approves N10bn Emergency Fund, Orders Tight Border Surveillance

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved the establishment of a Presidential Task Force on Ebola Virus Disease Preparedness and Emerging Public Health Threats and authorised the immediate release of N10 billion to strengthen Nigeria’s readiness against a possible Ebola outbreak.

The emergency funding is aimed at enhancing the operational capacity of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) and supporting critical public health response measures nationwide.

The newly created task force will be chaired by the President’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, and will comprise representatives from key Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), as well as state governments.

The move follows renewed concerns over the resurgence of Ebola cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Uganda, raising fears of cross-border transmission into other African countries, including Nigeria.

President Tinubu’s approval came after a high-level stakeholders’ meeting chaired by Gbajabiamila to assess Nigeria’s preparedness and develop strategies to prevent the importation of the deadly virus.

Participants at the meeting included officials from the Ministry of Interior, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), the Lagos State Government, and other relevant agencies.

As part of the emergency response, the President directed states with international airports and border corridors to submit detailed preparedness plans, funding requirements and intervention needs for coordinated implementation.

The task force is expected to immediately intensify passenger screening at international airports through enhanced temperature checks, crowd-control measures and stricter monitoring of travellers arriving on high-risk routes, including flights operated by Air Uganda, RwandAir, Air Tanzania, Air Angola, Kenya Airways and Ethiopian Airlines.

Authorities have also been ordered to activate referral and isolation centres at the Lagos and Abuja international airports, with similar facilities to be established at other airports across the country.

Additional measures include the mandatory use of QR code-based pre-arrival health declaration systems for travellers arriving from or transiting through designated high-risk countries, as well as the disinfection of airport terminals, cargo handling areas, baggage sections and other facilities.

President Tinubu further directed the task force to work with security, diplomatic and aviation authorities on possible restrictions and regulations affecting flights from affected countries.

The advisory group is also expected to designate specific airports or terminals for high-risk flights and consider flight scheduling adjustments to minimise contact between potentially exposed passengers and the general travelling public.

The latest intervention marks Nigeria’s most significant preventive action since reports of Ebola resurfaced in parts of East and Central Africa, as authorities move to prevent a repeat of past outbreaks.