APC PCC: ₦10bn Ebola Emergency Fund Intact, Alake Tackles Atiku Over ‘Bola-Ebola’ Jibe

…Says surveillance system detected index case, triggered tracing of 44 contacts as campaign warns against politicising public health crisis

By Yinka Giwa
The All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council (APC PCC) has disclosed that the ₦10 billion emergency fund approved by President Bola Tinubu in June to strengthen Nigeria’s preparedness against Ebola remains untouched, dismissing questions raised by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar over how the money was spent.

APC PCC spokesman, Dele Alake, made the disclosure on Thursday while responding to a statement by Atiku on Nigeria’s first confirmed Ebola case, accusing the opposition presidential candidate of attempting to turn a potentially deadly public health emergency into political ammunition.

Alake particularly criticised Atiku’s reported use of a headline linking President Tinubu’s first name, “Bola,” with Ebola, describing it as disrespectful to the office of the President and inappropriate at a time of heightened public health concern.

According to him, contrary to suggestions that the ₦10 billion emergency allocation had already been spent, the fund remains intact, while the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, and other agencies involved in disease surveillance have so far relied on other available resources.

“The N10 billion the President approved for the Ebola emergency in June remains untouched,” Alake said.

He argued that the performance of the country’s surveillance network should instead attract commendation, saying mechanisms already established at Nigeria’s entry points helped alert the authorities to the index case and enabled health officials to begin tracing the patient’s 44 contacts.

The APC campaign spokesman also rejected criticism over why the infected traveller, who arrived from Uganda, was not immediately identified as an Ebola case at the Abuja airport.

Alake said such criticism ignored the nature of the disease, noting that Ebola has an incubation period of between two and 21 days and that symptoms typically emerge several days after exposure.

He stressed that an infected person does not transmit the virus until symptoms develop, explaining that the Nigerian patient only reported to hospital days later, where tests eventually confirmed Ebola infection.

The PCC said this sequence did not amount to a failure of airport surveillance, insisting that the surveillance architecture ultimately helped authorities identify the case and launch contact tracing.

Alake also pushed back against Atiku’s allegation that the government’s ministerial briefing on the Ebola outbreak could be designed to discourage Nigerians from attending campaign rallies or voting.

He described the claim as speculative and challenged the former vice president to provide verifiable evidence, particularly given the sensitivity of such an allegation during an election campaign.

According to him, the government briefing made no announcement discouraging political rallies or voting, but instead appealed to Nigerians to comply with health protocols announced by the Presidential Task Force.

The APC PCC accused the Atiku campaign of repeatedly resorting to attacks on President Tinubu rather than recognising what it described as the government’s swift response to the health emergency.

It warned that politicising the Ebola outbreak could undermine public confidence in health authorities and complicate efforts to prevent the disease from spreading.

Alake urged political leaders across party lines to support health professionals, discourage rumours, and ensure that public communication around the outbreak is driven by verified information rather than electoral considerations.

“A time like this demands that all Nigerians, including the opposition, rally around the health authorities and professionals, communicate responsibly, avoid rumour-mongering, and follow the protocols advised by the Task Force to ensure Ebola does not become a national epidemic,” he said.

The PCC maintained that the immediate national priority should be containing the virus and protecting Nigerians, declaring: “Nigerians deserve, first of all, protection from the deadly disease.”