From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
The All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council has responded to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s questions over the N10 billion approved by President Bola Tinubu for Nigeria’s Ebola emergency response, insisting that the fund remains untouched.
The council said the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and other agencies involved in disease surveillance had been deploying existing resources to monitor the situation and strengthen surveillance at the country’s entry points.
In a statement issued in Abuja on Thursday, the council’s spokesperson, Dele Alake, accused Atiku of politicising the public health concern and using the Ebola alert to attack President Tinubu.
Alake said the N10 billion approved by the President in June for the emergency response had not been accessed, adding that the agencies involved had relied on other available resources to carry out surveillance and related activities.
“On accountability, the Atiku camp should note that the N10 billion the President approved for the Ebola emergency in June remains untouched, as the NCDC, FAAN, and other agencies involved in surveillance have been spending other available resources,” he said.
The council said the surveillance network established by the agencies helped alert the government to the index case and facilitated contact tracing involving 44 persons who had contact with the patient.
It commended the agencies for their efforts, saying the surveillance arrangements at the country’s entry points were crucial to detecting potential cases and preventing the spread of the virus.
Addressing questions about why the Nigerian traveller from Uganda was not detected at the Abuja airport, Alake said the circumstances should be considered in the context of Ebola’s incubation period and the onset of symptoms.
He stated that the incubation period ranged from two to 21 days, with symptoms typically appearing eight to 10 days after exposure. According to him, an infected person cannot transmit the virus before developing symptoms.
“This is why it took the infected Nigerian some days before reporting to the hospital, where several tests showed that the person had Ebola,” he said.
The APC council also faulted Atiku’s criticism of the government’s public health briefing, particularly the allegation that it was intended to discourage Nigerians from attending political campaign rallies or voting.
Alake described the allegation as speculative, insisting that the briefing did not raise the issue of restricting political participation but appealed to Nigerians to comply with the protocols announced by the relevant task force.
“Vice President Atiku cannot make such a serious allegation without verifiable evidence, especially in the thick of electioneering,” he said.
The council further criticised the headline of Atiku’s statement, which linked President Tinubu’s first name to Ebola, arguing that it turned a serious public health concern into an opportunity to ridicule the President.
Alake urged the former vice president and his supporters to avoid politicising public health issues, saying the situation required cooperation among government officials, opposition parties, health professionals and Nigerians generally.
He called on the public to communicate responsibly, avoid rumour-mongering and follow the preventive protocols issued by the task force to prevent the disease from developing into a national epidemic.
“Nigerians deserve, first of all, protection from the deadly disease,” he said.
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