The Federal Government is considering imposing restrictions on flights from countries affected by the Ebola virus as part of renewed efforts to prevent an outbreak in Nigeria.

The development was disclosed on Thursday by the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, following a high-level strategic meeting in Victoria Island, Lagos State, convened to assess the country’s Ebola preparedness and response framework.

Gbajabiamila, who chaired the meeting, said the proposed travel restrictions would be complemented by measures to isolate passengers displaying symptoms consistent with Ebola infection at the nation’s points of entry.

The meeting was attended by key government officials, including the Director-General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), Dr. Jide Idris; the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo; and the Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, among others.

Gbajabiamila further disclosed that President Bola Tinubu had been briefed on the Ebola situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda, assuring Nigerians that the Federal Government would take all necessary measures to prevent any case from entering the country.

According to him, the administration remains committed to strengthening surveillance systems, emergency response mechanisms, and inter-agency collaboration to safeguard public health.

“We have a health scare, which is Ebola, and we all know what happened the last time. The cases are getting worse internationally and worldwide, and we do not want to leave anything to chance.

“There were three or four areas we looked at. We considered the possibility, as of now, of restricting flights from countries of interest. We also examined the possibility of isolating passengers who may exhibit symptoms of Ebola.

“We looked at the possibility of using the cargo terminal to manage passengers arriving from those areas and, of course, putting protocols in place. We believe prevention is better than cure, and where some passengers slip through the cracks, we must have mechanisms for dealing with such situations,” he said.

The Minister of Interior, Tunji-Ojo, said all points of entry into the country would be subjected to enhanced monitoring to prevent any potential outbreak.

He added that the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) would collaborate closely with the NCDC to strengthen early detection and rapid response capabilities.

Speaking at the meeting, NCDC Director-General, Dr. Idris, warned that Ebola remains a severe viral disease and stressed the need for sustained vigilance, particularly among healthcare workers.

He noted that preparedness plans had been activated across all 36 states and that public awareness campaigns would be intensified to educate citizens on prevention and response measures.

Dr. Idris also affirmed that all necessary precautionary steps had been taken to strengthen Nigeria’s preparedness and response systems against any potential outbreak.

“We have our preparedness plan, and it covers all state governments and all ports of entry.

“This particular virus has no treatment and no vaccines. Therefore, public health measures are critical — isolation, rapid detection, public enlightenment, infection prevention, and control.

“These are the areas we are concentrating on at the NCDC. We have issued advisories, we are strengthening our communication efforts, and we are engaging healthcare workers because they are particularly vulnerable,” he said.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has reported 10 confirmed Ebola-related deaths and 223 suspected deaths in the DRC since the outbreak was declared in mid-May. The figures are drawn from more than 1,000 confirmed and suspected cases.

WHO Director-General, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, has expressed concern that the prolonged insecurity in eastern DRC, a region affected by decades of conflict, is significantly hampering efforts to contain the outbreak.