President Bola Tinubu has ordered the immediate release of ₦10 billion as emergency intervention funding and approved the establishment of a Presidential Task Force on Ebola Virus Disease Preparedness and Emerging Public Health Threats, as Nigeria moves to strengthen its defences against a possible Ebola outbreak.

The announcement was made on Tuesday by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, in a State House press release. According to the statement, the intervention fund is primarily aimed at boosting the operational readiness of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) and supporting critical national public health emergency response activities across the country.

The newly constituted Presidential Task Force will be chaired by the Chief of Staff to the President, Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, with membership drawn from relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) as well as state government representatives.

The move comes amid growing regional concern over the resurgence of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Uganda both neighbouring African countries raising alarm over the potential spread of the deadly disease to Nigeria.

According to the presidency, the President’s approval followed a high-level stakeholder meeting convened under the chairmanship of the Chief of Staff to review Nigeria’s current level of preparedness and develop proactive strategies against the possible importation of Ebola into the country. Representatives from the Ministry of Interior, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), and the Lagos State Government were among those who participated in the meeting.

Among the key measures directed by the Task Force are the intensification of passenger screening at all international airports, including enhanced temperature checks and crowd-control protocols. Enhanced monitoring has also been ordered for passengers arriving through high-risk airline routes, including Air Uganda, Rwanda Air, Air Tanzania, Air Angola, Kenya Airways, and Ethiopian Airlines. Additionally, referral and isolation centres are to be immediately activated at the Lagos and Abuja international airports, with other airports to follow in due course.

Other critical measures include the mandatory activation of QR code-based pre-arrival health declaration systems for passengers originating from or transiting through designated high-risk countries, as well as the disinfection of departure halls, cargo areas, baggage facilities, and other airport infrastructure as precautionary environmental measures.

President Tinubu further directed the Task Force to designate specific airports or terminals for high-risk flights to enable more controlled screening and isolation procedures, and to consider adjusting flight timings to minimise interaction between high-risk passengers and the general travelling public. He also mandated that the advisory group consult with security, diplomatic, and aviation bodies on the possibility of regulating flights from affected and high-risk countries.

All states hosting international airports and border corridors, as well as relevant MDAs, have been directed to submit their plans, funding requirements, and intervention needs for consideration and coordinated implementation under the new framework.