President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved the establishment of a Presidential Task Force on Ebola Virus Disease Preparedness and Emerging Public Health Threats and ordered the immediate release of N10 billion as emergency intervention funding.
Presidential spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, confirmed the development in a statement issued on Tuesday, June 9, 2026.
The fund is aimed at strengthening the operational capacity of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) and supporting critical national public health emergency response activities.
The Presidential Task Force will be chaired by the President’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, with membership drawn from relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) as well as state representatives.
The decision follows the recent resurgence of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda, raising concerns over possible cross-border transmission risks.
According to the State House, the approval came after a high-level stakeholder meeting chaired by Gbajabiamila to assess Nigeria’s preparedness and strengthen preventive strategies.
Attendees included representatives of the Ministry of Interior, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), the Lagos State Government, and other relevant agencies.
President Tinubu also directed states with international airports and major border corridors, alongside relevant federal agencies, to submit detailed preparedness plans, funding requirements and intervention needs for coordinated implementation.
As part of the response strategy, the task force will intensify passenger screening at all international airports, including enhanced temperature checks and crowd-control measures. Authorities will also strengthen monitoring of passengers arriving on designated high-risk routes operated by airlines such as Air Uganda, RwandAir, Air Tanzania, Air Angola, Kenya Airways, and Ethiopian Airlines.
The government has further ordered the immediate activation of referral and isolation centres at the Lagos and Abuja international airports, with similar facilities to be established in other locations nationwide.
Other measures include the mandatory use of QR code-based pre-arrival health declaration systems for passengers from or transiting through high-risk countries, as well as disinfection of airport terminals, cargo areas, and baggage facilities.
The Presidential Task Force has also been mandated to work with security, diplomatic, and aviation authorities to regulate flights from affected countries where necessary, designate specific terminals for high-risk passengers, and adjust flight scheduling to reduce contact with other travellers.