The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has said the 2027 general election could be postponed if the Ebola outbreak in the country spreads to a level that threatens public health.
Dr Jide Idris, the NCDC Director-General, made the remark during an interview on Channels Television, saying the severity and geographical spread of the outbreak would determine whether postponement should be considered. He stressed, however, that there was presently no basis for such a move, and expressed optimism that the outbreak would be contained without disrupting the electoral timetable.
“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,” he said. The 2027 general election is expected to begin in January, with political parties and aspirants already preparing for the polls.
Idris’s comments come amid concerns about the implications of the outbreak for public gatherings and other activities that could heighten the risk of transmission if the situation worsens.He maintained that any decision to postpone the election would be guided by public health considerations, not political interests. Responding to suggestions that the government might exploit the outbreak for political ends, he insisted that health officials had no such intention. “We in the health sector will not use disease issues as a political weapon. No government will use Ebola as a political weapon,” he said.
The NCDC chief explained that Nigeria had been closely monitoring the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where the outbreak originated, and had anticipated that the virus could reach the country. He listed population movement, international air travel and activity at the country’s ports of entry among the factors that made importation of the disease a concern for health authorities.
According to him, surveillance efforts had been shaped by developments in the DRC, although the possibility of the virus reaching Nigeria could never be completely ruled out. “This Ebola thing started in DRC a couple of months ago and we were tracking… 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.
