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Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved the establishment of a Presidential Task Force on Ebola Virus Disease preparedness and emerging public health threats, alongside the immediate release of ₦10 billion for emergency intervention funding.
The announcement was contained in a State House press release issued on Tuesday by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy.
The fund is expected to strengthen the operational capacity of the National Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) and support national public health emergency response systems.
STATEHOUSE PRESS RELEASE
PRESIDENT TINUBU ESTABLISHES TASK FORCE ON EBOLA; APPROVES N10B FOR EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved the establishment of a Presidential Task Force on Ebola Virus Disease Preparedness and Emerging Public Health Threats and… pic.twitter.com/Br4Jo6qNFd
— Bayo Onanuga, OON, CON (@aonanuga1956) June 9, 2026
The newly established task force will be chaired by the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, with members drawn from relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and state representatives.
The development comes as Ebola has recently resurfaced in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Uganda, raising regional concerns over possible cross-border transmission.
The President’s approval followed a stakeholder meeting chaired by the Chief of Staff, where Nigeria’s preparedness and preventive strategies were reviewed in the event of possible importation of the virus.
Participants at the meeting included 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, among others.
Tinubu also directed states hosting international airports and border corridors, as well as relevant MDAs, to submit their preparedness plans, funding needs, and intervention requirements for coordinated implementation.
The task force is expected to implement several preventive measures, including intensified passenger screening at international airports, enhanced temperature checks, and improved crowd-control protocols.
Other measures include enhanced monitoring of passengers arriving on high-risk airlines, such as Air Uganda, Rwanda Air, Air Tanzania, Air Angola, Kenya Airways, and Ethiopian Airlines.
It also includes the activation of referral and isolation centres at Lagos and Abuja international airports, with other airports expected to follow.
Additional directives include mandatory QR code-based pre-arrival health declarations for travellers from high-risk countries, as well as disinfection of airport facilities, including departure halls, baggage areas, and cargo zones.
The presidential advisory group is also expected to work with security, diplomatic and aviation authorities to regulate flight operations from affected countries.
It further directed that specific terminals be designated for high-risk flights to ensure controlled screening and isolation procedures, and that flight schedules be adjusted to reduce the risk of passenger interaction.
