By Augustine Ehikioya
The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Ali Pate, has urged Nigerians to stay vigilant but not panic following the detection of an imported case of Ebola in the country.
He gave the assurance in Abuja after briefing the Chief of Staff to the President, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, on steps being taken to contain the virus.
He said the Federal Government is collaborating with Uganda and has rolled out containment measures to prevent spread, appealing to Nigerians to shun misinformation and rely only on verified public health information.
“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,” Pate said.
The Minister stressed the need for calm and responsible communication.
“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 added.
According to him, Nigeria has the public health institutions, expertise and experience required to handle the situation, citing past management of health emergencies.
He disclosed that the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, NCDC, has activated its incident management system, with response teams working round the clock and the task force actively coordinating containment efforts.
“They are working 24/7, and the task force is also active. So we have things in place that gives us confidence that Nigeria can weather through this public health crisis,” Pate said.
He assured that government will continue to monitor developments and provide updates as verified information becomes available.
“If the situation changes, we’ll come out and inform Nigerians,” he said.
Pate reiterated that immediate priority is to contain the imported case and prevent community transmission.
He urged citizens to remain alert, follow credible guidance from health authorities and avoid fuelling anxiety through unverified reports.
