President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved the establishment of the Presidential Task Force on Ebola Virus Disease Preparedness and Emerging Public Health Threats. To anchor this aggressive national response, the President has ordered the immediate release of ₦10 billion in emergency intervention funding.
The announcement, disclosed in a statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, comes amid growing regional anxiety. A rapid resurgence of the Ebola Virus Disease, specifically the Bundibugyo ebolavirus strain, has been recorded in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and neighboring Uganda, triggering immediate cross-border transmission fears across West Africa.
The newly approved ₦10 billion emergency fund is structured to directly bolster the operational readiness of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC).
According to the presidency, the capital injection will fund critical national public health emergency response activities, ensuring that medical stockpiles, diagnostic tools, and rapid-response teams are fully optimized.To guarantee seamless inter-agency collaboration, the Presidential Task Force will be chaired by the Chief of Staff to the President, Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila. Its membership spans crucial Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs), alongside key state government representatives.
The President’s directive followed a high-level stakeholder meeting convened by Gbajabiamila to audit Nigeria’s current defensive capabilities.
The meeting brought together leadership from:
The Ministry of Interior
The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN)
The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS)
The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NC
The Lagos State Government
Key Containment Protocols Activated:
Enhanced Border Screening: Immediate intensification of passenger screening at all international airports, featuring strict temperature checks and crowd-control protocols.
Targeted Airline Monitoring: Heightened surveillance on passengers arriving via high-risk routes, explicitly highlighting carriers such as Air Uganda, RwandAir, Air Tanzania, Air Angola, Kenya Airways, and Ethiopian Airlines.
Digital Health Tracking: Mandatory activation of QR code-based pre-arrival health declaration systems for travelers originating from or transiting through designated high-risk nations.
Isolation Capabilities: The immediate re-activation of referral and isolation centers at the Lagos and Abuja international airports, with secondary facilities slated for deployment across other regional borders.
Restructuring Flight RisksBeyond passive screening, the Task Force is taking proactive steps to alter transit environments. The advisory body has been mandated to consult extensively with security, diplomatic, and aviation authorities to explore temporary regulations on flights originating from heavily affected areas.Plans are also underway to designate specific airports or isolated terminals for high-risk flights.
This will allow for controlled containment procedures and isolated baggage handling, effectively minimizing physical interaction between high-risk passengers and the general public. Additionally, deep disinfection protocols have been ordered for all departure halls, cargo holds, and baggage areas nationwide.
As Africa’s most populous nation, Nigeria’s swift policy deployment mirrors its highly praised 2014 containment strategy, which the World Health Organization previously lauded as a global benchmark. By moving preemptively with substantial funding and centralized leadership, the Tinubu administration aims to ensure the country’s public health architecture remains impenetrable against emerging continental threats.