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 N10 billion to strengthen Nigeria’s readiness against a possible outbreak.

The fund is expected to boost the operational capacity of the National Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) and support critical public health emergency response activities nationwide.

The task force, chaired by Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, will comprise representatives of relevant ministries, departments and agencies, as well as state governments.

The move follows the recent resurgence of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda and comes after a high-level stakeholders’ meeting convened to assess Nigeria’s preparedness and preventive measures.

President Tinubu also directed states with international airports and border corridors to submit their preparedness plans and funding requirements for coordinated implementation.

Among measures approved are enhanced passenger screening at international airports, stricter monitoring of travellers arriving from high-risk routes, activation of isolation and referral centres at Lagos and Abuja airports, and the introduction of mandatory QR code-based health declarations for passengers from designated high-risk countries.

The task force is also expected to work with security, aviation and diplomatic authorities to regulate flights from affected countries and strengthen border surveillance to prevent the importation of the disease into Nigeria.