Follow Us on Google
Director-General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), Dr. Jide Idris has kicked against any planned rescheduling of the 2027 general election over Ebola outbreak in the country.
According to him, there is currently no justification for shifting the election on account of Ebola.
Idris spoke as a guest on ‘Politics Today’, a Channels Television programme on Monday.
The NCDC boss said a widespread outbreak of the disease could raise public health concerns that would affect the conduct of the polls.
However, he said, such condition had not been met.
Asked if the outbreak could lead to the postponement of the election, he said, “We hope not, because if the thing gets wide enough, there might be concern. As of now, there is no need for that.”
Idris noted that the decision to postpone was beyond his authority and shut down insinuations that the government could use the disease as a political weapon ahead of the polls.
He warned against declaring Nigeria Ebola-free due to the evacuation of the index patient to Switzerland for further medical treatment.
The NCDC boss said, “We don’t have an active positive case. But we have contacts. We need to follow up.”
