Ebola Surge May Force Postponement of 2027 Elections – NCDC

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has warned that a surge in the Ebola outbreak could force the postponement of the 2027 general elections if the situation worsens.

The Director-General of the agency, Jide Idris, said the possibility of postponing the elections could be considered if the outbreak spreads widely, although there is currently no need for such a measure.

Idris spoke on Channels Television’s Politics Today, amid concerns over the Ebola outbreak as political activities gather momentum ahead of the 2027 general elections.

“We hope the election will not be postponed but if the thing gets wide enough that might be considered, as at now there is no need for that,” he said.

The NCDC chief also dismissed suggestions that the government could use the Ebola outbreak as a political weapon, insisting that public health concerns should not be politicised.

“We in the health sector did not use disease issues as a political weapon,” Idris said.

Explaining how Nigeria became exposed to the outbreak, Idris said the agency had been monitoring developments in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where the outbreak began months earlier.

He identified population movement, international flights and ports of entry as factors that could facilitate the spread of the disease into Nigeria.

“This Ebola thing started in DRC a couple of months ago and we were tracking, they said for you to track again 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, no government will use Ebola as a political weapon,” he said.

The 2027 general elections are scheduled to begin in January, with politicians seeking elective positions already commencing their campaigns.

However, Idris maintained that postponement was not currently necessary, noting that any consideration of the move would depend on how widely the Ebola outbreak spreads.