By Sabiu Abdullahi
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential campaign council has challenged the All Progressives Congress (APC) to explain why the N10 billion approved by President Bola Tinubu for Ebola preparedness in June has reportedly remained unused.
In a statement issued on Friday, Phrank Shaibu, Director of Strategic Communication for the ADC presidential campaign council, accused the ruling party of avoiding questions about the release and management of the emergency fund.
The statement followed comments by Dele Alake, spokesperson for the APC presidential campaign council, who reportedly said the money had not been spent because the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and other agencies had relied on existing resources.
Reacting, Shaibu criticised the APC’s response and demanded documentary evidence showing whether the funds had been released and how they were being managed.
“The APC have made a remarkable discovery: ‘Bola’ sounds like ‘Ebola’. We had not noticed. They found the rhyme, wrote a lengthy press statement about it and somehow still could not tell Nigerians where the ₦10 billion ordered released for Ebola preparedness is,” the statement reads.
“Atiku Abubakar asked for the money trail and an account of the emergency response. The party in power came back with a pronunciation lesson.”
Shaibu asked the Federal Government to clarify whether the money had been disbursed and, if so, identify the account holding it, the officials responsible for managing it and the reasons it had not been spent.
“Was the money released or was it not? If it was released, where is it held, who controls it, and why has it not been used for the preparedness President Tinubu announced in June?” he stated.
“If it was never released, why was an order for its immediate release announced in June? Publish the release documents, the account records and the Task Force’s expenditure reports. Insulting Atiku Abubakar will not account for one naira.”
The ADC spokesperson also questioned the government’s response to the confirmed Ebola case in Abuja, demanding a detailed timeline showing when the infection was first suspected, when health authorities received an alert and when testing and contact tracing began.
Citing the World Health Organization’s account, Shaibu said the patient developed symptoms on October 7, sought treatment at a private health facility on October 11 and received laboratory confirmation on October 20.
“The APC says an infected person cannot transmit Ebola before symptoms appear. That is true. It does not answer what happened after symptoms appeared,” he said.
He also called on the government to identify the agency that raised the surveillance alert and explain the actions taken after the warning.
“The APC claims surveillance ‘tipped off’ the government. Then publish the timeline. Name the agency that raised the alert, give the date and explain the action taken,” he said.
Shaibu stressed the need to provide healthcare workers involved in treatment and contact tracing with adequate protection, equipment and resources.
“Health workers treating the patient and tracing contacts deserve protection, equipment and every resource needed to act quickly. Questioning the government’s preparedness is no insult to them.”
He further expressed concern that public health measures could be used to restrict political campaigns or voting during the election period. He urged the Tinubu administration to make public any proposed restrictions, the medical justification for them and the recommendations of health authorities.
“Public health guidance must protect people. It must never become a political tool,” he added.
