Nigeria’s first confirmed Ebola case since 2014 has quickly become a campaign issue. A day after the federal government announced the case in Abuja, Atiku Abubakar, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, demanded a public audit of ₦10 billion he said had been set aside for Ebola preparedness.
What Atiku said
In a statement issued on Wednesday 21 October 2026 by Phrank Shaibu, director of strategic communication in the ADC Presidential Campaign Council, Atiku asked the government to publish how much of the money had been released, when, to which contractors and for what. “Where is the money?” he asked, adding that “a press statement cannot replace an audit.”
He also questioned the timeline. According to his statement, the patient arrived in the country in early October, fell ill days later and sought treatment at a private hospital on 11 October, but the case was only confirmed on 20 October. He criticised the Presidential Task Force on Ebola, chaired by the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, saying medical experts rather than political office holders should lead the response, and warned the government not to use the outbreak to discourage people from attending rallies or voting.
The ADC’s figures and timeline are its own; the government had not published a breakdown of Ebola spending when this story was written.
What the government has said
The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Muhammad Pate, confirmed the case on Tuesday 20 October. The patient is a woman who flew into Nigeria from Uganda and is in isolation at a private hospital in the Federal Capital Territory. Officials identified 44 contacts, including health workers, patients, carers and fellow travellers, and told hospitals across the country to go on high alert.
After meeting Gbajabiamila on 21 October, Pate said Nigeria could contain the case as it contained the 2014 outbreak, which recorded 20 cases and eight deaths before the World Health Organization declared the country Ebola-free. “We must be vigilant, but not panic,” he said.
The National Assembly’s response
The Senate used its sitting on 21 October to urge the government to release emergency funds from the Service Wide Vote and to make health screening compulsory at airports, seaports and land borders. The House of Representatives separately asked for outstanding funds owed to health agencies to be released. (See our report on the Senate’s Ebola resolutions.)
Why it matters for 2027
The case comes less than three months before the presidential and National Assembly elections on 16 January 2027, with all the main parties holding rallies. How the government handles it, and how it accounts for the money, is now part of the argument between the ruling APC and the opposition.
