?The Presidential Task Force on Ebola Preparedness, Virus Disease Preparedness and Emerging Public Health Threats has assured Nigerians of the country's capacity to contain and manage the Ebola virus following the detection of an index case in Abuja.

?Speaking to journalists after an emergency meeting at the State House on Wednesday, the Chairman of the Task Force and Chief of Staff to the President, Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, revealed that proactive measures implemented since the committee's inauguration in June enabled the swift identification of the infected individual.

He noted that despite roughly 44,000 flights operating in and out of Nigeria since June, early detection protocols functioned as intended.

?“The passenger with the disease showed no symptoms, which came four days after the woman got into Abuja, and it was the identification process and the protocols that were put in place that enabled the quick identification.

That also speaks to the country's capacity and ability to deal with this disease as best as we can,” Gbajabiamila said. He added that the Task Force will enforce stricter compliance and protocols, stating, “The Task Force is on top of it.

NCDC is on top of it; everyone is on deck. We must build community trust and avoid panic, but it's also important to state clearly that this is a collaborative effort between the government and the people.”

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Reassuring the public, the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, confirmed that contact tracing, isolation protocols, and incident management systems have been fully activated in partnership with the World Health Organization (WHO), Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), and the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC).

He emphasized that national and subnational health facilities, airport authorities, and border control agencies remain on high alert.

?“We have been conducting contact tracing diligently and isolating those contacts of the index imported case in this country. We will continue to do that, and we want to reassure Nigerians that the federal government, alongside its technical partners, the World Health Organisation, the Africa Centre for Disease Control, and our own Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, have activated the incident management system across the various pillars,” Pate stated.

?Minister Pate cautioned citizens against spreading unverified rumors or misinformation that could trigger panic, drawing confidence from Nigeria's successful containment of Ebola in 2014.

“In addition to our exceptional public health physicians who had successfully tamed this virus in 2014, and had contributed to other countries, we are confident that if we continue in this direction, we will emerge out of this crisis in a much stronger place,” he assured.

?The emergency meeting was attended by key government officials, health administrators, and international partners, including Comptroller-General of Nigeria Immigration Service Kemi Nandap, FAAN Managing Director Bunmi Kuku, WHO Representative Pavel Ursu, Africa CDC Special Regional Representative Dr. Aliko Ahmed, FCT Mandate Secretary for Health Dr. Dolapo Fasawe, as well as the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment Olajumoke Oduwole and Lagos State Commissioner for Health Prof. Akin Abayomi, who joined virtually.