The Federal Government says it is weighing fresh measures, including possible flight restrictions from countries battling Ebola outbreaks, in a renewed effort to prevent the disease from entering Nigeria.
The move was discussed during a high-level meeting held on Thursday in Victoria Island, Lagos, where top government officials reviewed the nation’s preparedness and emergency response plans against the deadly virus.
Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, who presided over the meeting, disclosed that authorities are also considering the isolation of travellers showing signs linked to Ebola at airports and other entry points into the country.
Among those present at the strategic session were the Director-General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Jide Idris; the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo; and Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Akin Abayomi.
Gbajabiamila said President Bola Tinubu had already been briefed on the worsening Ebola situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda, adding that the administration was determined to prevent a repeat of past outbreaks in Nigeria.
According to him, the government is intensifying surveillance systems, strengthening inter-agency collaboration, and improving response mechanisms to protect public health.
“We have a health scare, which is Ebola, and we all know what happened the last time. The cases are getting worse, internationally and worldwide, and we don’t want to leave anything to chance.
“There were three, four areas we looked at. We looked at the issue of possibility, as of now, of restricting flights from countries of interest. We looked at the possibilities of isolating passengers who may exhibit symptoms of Ebola.
“We looked at the possibility of isolating or using the cargo terminal to deal with passengers that are coming in from those areas, and of course, putting certain things in place, protocols in place; we believe that prevention is better than cure, and where some passengers slip through the cracks, then we must have ways of dealing with situations such as that,” he said.
Speaking after the meeting, Interior Minister Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo said tighter monitoring would be enforced across all border entry points nationwide.
He noted that the Nigeria Immigration Service would collaborate closely with the NCDC to strengthen early detection systems and ensure rapid response in the event of any suspected case.
On his part, NCDC Director-General, Dr. Jide Idris, described Ebola as a highly dangerous viral disease with no known cure or vaccine, stressing the need for constant vigilance, especially among frontline health workers.
He explained that preparedness plans had already been activated across the 36 states and that public enlightenment campaigns would be expanded to educate Nigerians on preventive measures and response procedures.
Dr. Idris maintained that the country had already put in place critical safeguards aimed at improving national readiness against any possible outbreak.
“We have our preparedness plan; it’s covering all state governments, all ports of entry.
“This particular virus has no treatment, no vaccines. So it’s the public health measures that need to be done — isolation, quick detection, public enlightenment, infection prevention, and control.
“These are areas now we are concentrating on from NCDC. We are sent out advisories. We’re going to increase our communication skills again, and we’re talking to healthcare workers because they are vulnerable,” he said.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation said the Democratic Republic of Congo has recorded 10 confirmed Ebola deaths and 223 suspected fatalities since the outbreak was declared in mid-May, with over 1,000 confirmed and suspected infections already documented.