The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) says the 2027 general election could be postponed if the Ebola outbreak spreads far enough to threaten public health.
Dr Jide Idris, Director-General of the NCDC, said this during an interview on Channels Television. He explained that the severity and geographical spread of the outbreak would guide any such decision.
“We hope the election will not be postponed, but if the thing (Ebola) gets wide enough, that might be considered. As of now, there is no need for that,” Idris said.
The 2027 general election is expected to begin in January. Political parties and aspirants are already preparing for the polls.
Tracking the Outbreak
Idris said Nigeria had been monitoring developments in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where the outbreak began months ago.
He said population movements, international air travel and activity at ports of entry made the virus a real concern for health authorities.
“This Ebola thing started in DRC a couple of months ago and we were tracking. They said for you to track again there is a possibility that it may get here due to our population movement, flight into this country, and ports of entry, yet it came,” he said.
The NCDC chief insisted that any postponement decision would rest on public health grounds, not politics.
“We in the health sector will not use disease issues as a political weapon. No government will use Ebola as a political weapon,” Idris said.
Adebayo Rejects Election Delay Talk
But hard-hitting Social Democratic Party (SDP) presidential candidate Adewole Adebayo immediately raised the alarm, warning against any attempt to use the Ebola crisis as an excuse to cancel campaigns or postpone the 2027 poll.
Adebayo spoke on Sunday, October 25, at a dinner organised by his Presidential Campaign Council in Abuja. He argued that one confirmed Ebola case does not amount to an epidemic.
He said his campaign would keep mobilising voters while following public health guidelines. He also asked Nigerians to report suspected Ebola symptoms to health authorities.
His position follows comments by the Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Pate. Pate said last Thursday in Abuja that there was no immediate need to cancel rallies or large gatherings.
Pate explained that any restriction would be based on scientific evidence and talks with public health experts.
Adebayo recalled Nigeria’s handling of the 2014 Ebola outbreak under former President Goodluck Jonathan.
He said that response was transparent, but accused President Bola Tinubu’s administration of hiding information this time.
“One single incident of Ebola is not enough to talk about an epidemic. Secondly, we have dealt with Ebola in Nigeria before during the time of Goodluck Jonathan, with Dr (Onyebuchi) Chukwu as Minister of Health,” he said.
“Everybody in Nigeria had a transparent understanding of Ebola. The person who brought it to Nigeria, Patrick Sawyer, from Liberia, the lead consultant physician who treated him then was Dr (Stella) Adadevoh. Everything about it was transparent. But this particular one is shrouded in mystery.”
Manifesto Push
Beyond Ebola, Adebayo said his manifesto has been translated into several Nigerian languages. He said the document focuses on security and welfare, which he called the core duties of government.
“The primary duty of government is security and welfare. If you have studied our manifesto, you will realise it was published in all the major languages namely English, Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba,” he said.
He asked voters to study the manifesto and question the party’s plans before casting their ballots.
The Ebola outbreak has therefore become a test of how Nigeria balances public health with democratic process. As a result, all eyes will be on the NCDC and the electoral commission as January approaches.
Hmmm, from what I could gather, the government released funds for the containment of the virus, or am I wrong? Making this case as a plausible cause for election postponement, though valid, but it is not what we need now.