Ebola: APC campaign council says Tinubu’s N10bn emergency fund untouched

The All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council has said the N10bn approved by President Bola Tinubu for the Ebola emergency response in June remains untouched.

The council said the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and other agencies involved in disease surveillance had been using other available resources to manage the reported Ebola case in the country.

The council’s spokesperson, Dele Alake, disclosed this in a statement on Thursday while responding to criticism by former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar over the handling of the Ebola situation and the utilisation of the emergency fund.

Atiku had questioned how the N10bn approved for the emergency was spent, while linking Tinubu’s name to Ebola in the title of his statement.

Reacting, Alake accused the former vice-president of politicising a public health concern and disrespecting the office of the President.

He said the surveillance system established by relevant agencies had helped alert the government to the index case and facilitated contact tracing of 44 people who had contact with the patient.

“The N10 billion the President approved for the Ebola emergency in June remains untouched, as the NCDC, FAAN, and other agencies involved in surveillance have been spending other available resources,” Alake said.

He commended the agencies for their surveillance efforts at the country’s entry points, saying the system was instrumental in detecting the case and initiating contact tracing.