Nigeria Establishes Presidential Task Force to Combat Ebola

The Federal Government of Nigeria has established a Presidential Task Force on Ebola Virus Disease Preparedness.

Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, Femi Gbajabiamila, inaugurated the task force on Thursday in Abuja, emphasizing early action to prevent an outbreak and to avoid a repeat of the 2014 Ebola crisis.

“We did the inauguration today on the preparedness of Nigeria for the Ebola virus disease. We’ve covered a lot of ground,” Gbajabiamila said. “Right now, there’s no reported case, which is good news, and that’s why all hands have to be on deck to make sure the measures we are taking are preventive, not curative.”

He stressed that the government aims to be proactive rather than waiting for an outbreak to occur. “We don’t want to be in the situation we were last time, where we had a carrier in the country and we’re all running helter-skelter,” he added.

The task force has formed specialized teams to handle different areas, including disease tracking, border control, and emergency response coordination. Gbajabiamila noted that while previous efforts focused mainly on airports, the new task force is placing extra emphasis on monitoring land borders and informal travel routes.

He added that the expanded coverage is necessary due to significant cross‑migration through land borders, involving immigration authorities, the Border Control Development Agency, and local border communities.

Dr Jide Idris, Director‑General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), confirmed that health checkpoints have already been strengthened at major entry points. He explained that the new plan links several government ministries and state authorities together to ensure the country does not acquire the virus.