Mirian Gom 
President Bola Tinubu
ABUJA, Nigeria – President Bola Tinubu has approved a Presidential Task Force on Ebola Virus Disease Preparedness and ordered the immediate release of ₦10 billion to strengthen Nigeria’s emergency response systems against potential Ebola outbreaks and other public health threats.
The announcement comes amid heightened regional concern over the ongoing Ebola outbreak in parts of Central and East Africa.
According to a statement issued on Tuesday by presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga, the emergency funding will boost the operational readiness of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) and support critical preparedness activities nationwide.
The newly established Presidential Task Force will be chaired by Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, and will include representatives from key ministries, departments, agencies and state governments.
The decision followed a high-level stakeholders’ meeting convened to assess Nigeria’s preparedness against the possible importation of Ebola.
Participants included officials from the Ministry of Interior, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Lagos State Government and other strategic institutions.
Tinubu also directed states hosting international airports and major border corridors to submit detailed preparedness plans, funding requirements and intervention proposals.
Among the immediate measures approved are enhanced passenger screening procedures at international airports, including stricter temperature checks and crowd-control protocols.
The government also ordered intensified monitoring of passengers arriving on designated high-risk routes, including flights operated by Air Uganda, RwandAir, Air Tanzania, TAAG Angola Airlines, Kenya Airways and Ethiopian Airlines.
Authorities have been directed to activate referral and isolation centres at Lagos and Abuja international airports, while similar facilities are to be established nationwide.
Additional measures include the deployment of a QR code-based pre-arrival health declaration system for travellers arriving from designated high-risk countries.
About the Author
Korede Abdullah 
Oluwatobi Adu 
