President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved the establishment of a Presidential Task Force on Ebola Virus Disease Preparedness and Emerging Public Health Threats and ordered the immediate release of N10 billion to strengthen Nigeria’s emergency response capacity against a possible Ebola outbreak.
The intervention fund is aimed at boosting the operational readiness of the National Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) and supporting critical public health emergency response activities nationwide.
According to a statement issued on Tuesday by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the newly established task force will be chaired by the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, and will comprise representatives from relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) as well as state governments.
The move comes amid renewed concerns over the resurgence of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Uganda, raising fears of possible cross-border transmission into Nigeria.
President Tinubu’s approval followed a high-level stakeholder meeting convened by Gbajabiamila to assess the country’s preparedness and develop strategies to prevent the importation of Ebola.
Participants at the meeting included officials from the Ministry of Interior, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), the Lagos State Government, and other key agencies involved in border and public health management.
As part of efforts to strengthen surveillance and response mechanisms, the President directed all states hosting international airports and border corridors to submit detailed preparedness plans, funding requirements, and intervention needs for coordinated implementation.
The Presidential Task Force has been mandated to implement a series of immediate preventive measures, including intensified passenger screening at international airports, enhanced temperature checks, and stricter crowd-control protocols.
Authorities will also increase monitoring of passengers arriving through airline routes considered high-risk, including Air Uganda, RwandAir, Air Tanzania, Air Angola, Kenya Airways, and Ethiopian Airlines.
In addition, referral and isolation centres at the international airports in Lagos and Abuja are to be activated immediately, with similar facilities expected to be established at other airports across the country.
The Federal Government also approved the mandatory deployment of QR code-based pre-arrival health declaration systems for passengers travelling from or transiting through designated high-risk countries.
Other precautionary measures include the routine disinfection of departure halls, cargo facilities, baggage handling areas, and other airport infrastructure.
President Tinubu further directed the advisory group to engage security, diplomatic, and aviation authorities on possible regulations affecting flights from countries classified as high-risk.
The task force is also expected to designate specific airports or terminals for high-risk flights to facilitate controlled screening, isolation procedures, and the management of potential Ebola cases. It may also recommend adjustments to flight schedules to minimise contact between high-risk passengers and other travellers.
Nigeria previously recorded a successful containment of Ebola in 2014 after an imported case triggered an outbreak that claimed several lives but was rapidly controlled through aggressive contact tracing and emergency response measures.
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