By Emmanuel Nduka
Nigerians have renewed calls for accountability over the ₦10 billion approved by President Bola Tinubu for Ebola preparedness, following the evacuation of the country’s first reported case to Switzerland and renewed questions about how the emergency funds have been handled.
The controversy centres on the presidential task force on Ebola Virus Disease Preparedness and Emerging Public Health Threats, chaired by Femi Gbajabiamila, the president’s chief of staff. The demand for answers has intensified after the Nigerian Government confirmed that the patient, an Ugandan-born Swiss national, had departed Nigeria for Switzerland alongside her husband, a Swiss diplomat based in Abuja.
Health and Social Welfare Minister, Ali Pate, said the patient had improved clinically before the evacuation but remained potentially infectious, necessitating strict medical protocols. The development was followed by the World Health Organisation’s declaration that Nigeria had no confirmed Ebola case, prompting renewed public scrutiny of the money approved to strengthen the country’s preparedness.
On social media, several Nigerians questioned why the government had yet to provide a detailed account of the ₦10 billion earmarked for the emergency response. Some demanded the immediate return of the funds, while others called for a transparent explanation of how the money was managed and whether any portion had been spent.
One X user, @climaxx_empire, alleged that the Ebola scare was a scheme to divert public funds, while another user, @advocate4abet, urged Nigerians to sustain pressure on the government until it disclosed the whereabouts of the money.
Other users questioned the rationale for retaining the funds following the patient’s departure and the subsequent declaration that Nigeria had no confirmed case. However, the allegations circulating online have not, in themselves, established that the money was misappropriated.
The Presidency has maintained that the ₦10 billion approved by Tinubu in June remains unspent. In a statement responding to questions raised by former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, the administration said the funds had not been touched, adding that the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria and other surveillance agencies had relied on existing resources to carry out their operations.
The position introduces a fresh dimension to the controversy, with public demands for accountability now extending beyond the question of whether the money was spent to include why the allocation remains unused and what should happen to it.
Tinubu approved the ₦10 billion intervention on June 9, 2026, following a high-level meeting on Nigeria’s preparedness for Ebola and other emerging public health threats. The president also established a presidential task force chaired by Gbajabiamila to coordinate the response, with membership drawn from relevant ministries, departments and agencies.
The approval was intended to strengthen the operational readiness of public health institutions and support emergency response activities amid Ebola outbreaks reported in other countries. The emergence of a confirmed case in Nigeria subsequently placed the government’s preparedness measures under greater scrutiny.
With the patient now evacuated and the country reportedly without a confirmed case, Nigerians are demanding clarity on the status of the emergency allocation, the conditions under which it was approved and the next steps for the money.
The government’s assertion that the funds remain untouched has yet to resolve the wider debate over transparency and the management of emergency public spending. Calls for disclosure of the fund’s status, including whether it should be returned to the treasury or retained for other public health emergencies, are likely to persist.
For many Nigerians, the central issue is no longer simply the disappearance of an immediate health threat, but whether public funds approved in the name of national preparedness can be accounted for clearly and transparently.
