No government will use Ebola as political weapon —NCDC DG

The Director-General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), Jide Idris, has said no government would use the Ebola outbreak as a political weapon.

Mr Idris made the statement on Monday during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today, amid concerns and claims that the Ebola outbreak could be exploited by the government to influence political activities ahead of the 2027 general elections.

“We in the health sector will not use disease issues as a political weapon,” Mr Idris said.

PREMIUM TIMES had earlier reported how some Nigerians linked the Ebola case to the government’s 2027 election plans, with some alleging that restrictions could be imposed under the guise of containing the disease. 

Responding to a question on whether the Ebola situation could lead to the postponement of the 2027 elections, Mr Idris said the decision is beyond his authority.

He said there is currently no reason to postpone the elections, but acknowledged that a widespread outbreak could raise public health concerns.

“We hope not, because if the thing gets wide enough, there might be concern. As of now, there is no need for that,” he said.

He said health authorities had been monitoring the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) for months and had anticipated that population movement and international flights could lead to an imported case in Nigeria.

“So no government will use Ebola as a political weapon,” he said.

Political concerns

The comments come against the backdrop of growing political activity ahead of the 2027 elections, with President Bola Tinubu seeking re-election and opposition candidates, including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, already campaigning.

The Independent National Electoral Commission has fixed 16 January 2027 for the presidential and National Assembly elections.

The Ebola response has also become part of the political debate.

Mr Atiku, the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), had questioned the government’s handling of the outbreak and demanded an account of the N10 billion approved for Ebola preparedness.

His comments prompted the APC Presidential Campaign Council to accuse him of politicising the health emergency and to say the fund remained untouched.

The State House had announced in June that President Tinubu approved N10 billion in emergency intervention funding to strengthen NCDC preparedness and support public health emergency response activities.

Nigeria is not Ebola free

Mr Idris emphasised that the Ebola response is not being driven by electoral considerations.

He said Nigeria had been preparing for the possibility of an imported case because of the outbreak in the DRC and the movement of people between countries.

The NCDC boss also cautioned that Nigeria is not yet Ebola free, despite the evacuation of the index patient to Switzerland.

“We don’t have an active positive case,” he said. “But the contacts, we have contacts. We need to follow up.”

He said health authorities will continue to monitor contacts and investigate additional suspected exposures.