The Nigerian Government has urged citizens to remain vigilant and avoid panic and the spread of misinformation following the detection of an imported case of Ebola.
The government also assured citizens that necessary public health measures have been activated to contain the disease and prevent its spread.
The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Ali Pate, gave the reassurance after a meeting with the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, emphasising the importance of responsible public communication and adherence to verified health information.
READ ALSO: Ebola: President Tinubu Approves N10 Billion, Sets Up Task Force
“Nigerians should be reassured. We must be vigilant, but not panic, and people should respect public health information from trusted sources, and not spread misinformation and false rumours,” he said.
Professor Pate explained that the Federal Government was working closely with Uganda to manage the imported case, while intensifying contact tracing and other preventive measures to safeguard the Nigerian population.
“All I can tell you is that we are collaborating with our sister African nation of Uganda. What is important is that we have found this one case. We are doing contact tracing, and we are putting containment measures to ensure that it doesn’t go into our population,” he said.
The minister disclosed that the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) had activated its incident management system, with emergency response teams operating round the clock to coordinate surveillance, contact tracing and containment efforts.
He added that the relevant public health task force had also been mobilised to strengthen the national response and ensure effective coordination of measures aimed at preventing further transmission.
“They are working 24/7, and the task force is also active. So we have things in place that give us confidence that Nigeria can weather through this public health crisis,” Pate said.
Expressing confidence in the country’s preparedness, the minister maintained that Nigeria possessed the public health institutions, technical expertise and experience required to respond effectively to the situation.
He noted that lessons from previous public health emergencies had strengthened the country’s capacity for disease surveillance, emergency coordination and outbreak management.
Pate further assured Nigerians that the government would sustain close monitoring of developments and communicate verified information to the public as the situation evolved.
“If the situation changes, we’ll come out and inform Nigerians,” he said.
The minister reiterated that the government’s immediate priority remained the containment of the imported case and the prevention of further transmission within the population.
He further urged Nigerians to remain alert, comply with credible public health advisories and refrain from circulating unverified reports capable of generating unnecessary fear and undermining ongoing containment efforts.
