The Federal Government has begun fresh emergency measures to prevent a possible Ebola outbreak in Nigeria amid growing concerns over rising cases reported in parts of Africa.
Newsonspot reports that top government officials on Thursday held a high-level meeting in Lagos to review the country’s preparedness and response strategy following reports of increasing Ebola cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda.
The meeting, chaired by the Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, Femi Gbajabiamila, took place at Victoria Island, Lagos, and was attended by senior health and security officials.
Speaking after the session, Gbajabiamila disclosed that the government was considering temporary restrictions on flights from countries affected by the deadly virus as part of efforts to safeguard public health.
According to him, discussions focused on several emergency response measures, including stricter screening at airports, isolation procedures for passengers showing symptoms linked to Ebola, and enhanced border surveillance.
“We have a health scare, which is Ebola, and we all know what happened the last time. The cases are getting worse internationally, and we don’t want to leave anything to chance,” Gbajabiamila said.
He added that the government was exploring multiple options to strengthen prevention and containment measures nationwide.
“We looked at the possibility of restricting flights from countries of interest. We also discussed isolating passengers who may exhibit symptoms and using cargo terminals to manage passengers arriving from affected areas. Prevention is better than cure, and we must have systems in place to quickly respond to any emergency,” he stated.
Gbajabiamila further revealed that President Bola Tinubu had been fully briefed on the developments and directed all relevant agencies to remain on high alert.
Officials present at the meeting included the Director-General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), Dr. Jide Idris, Minister of Interior Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, and Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi.
The Minister of Interior stated that surveillance at airports, seaports, and land borders would be intensified, while the Nigeria Immigration Service would collaborate closely with health agencies to improve early detection and emergency response systems.
Health experts at the meeting also emphasized the importance of stronger coordination between federal and state authorities, especially in major cities with heavy international travel activities.
Nigeria earned global recognition in 2014 for successfully containing Ebola after an infected Liberian-American diplomat arrived in Lagos. The outbreak resulted in several infections and deaths before it was eventually controlled through aggressive contact tracing and emergency intervention.
