Social Democratic Party presidential candidate, Adewole Adebayo, has warned against using Nigeria’s recent Ebola outbreak as a basis for postponing the 2027 general elections, saying the country can protect public health without disrupting the electoral process.
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Adebayo spoke on Sunday at a dinner organised by the SDP Presidential Campaign Council in Abuja, where he argued that a single confirmed Ebola case was insufficient to justify shutting down political campaigns, rallies or other public activities.
His comments came amid heightened public concern following Nigeria’s confirmation of an imported case of Ebola virus disease caused by the Bundibugyo strain in the Federal Capital Territory.
“Ebola is not the biggest public health crisis we have in Nigeria,” Adebayo said.
“One single incident of Ebola is not enough to talk about an epidemic.”
The SDP candidate recalled Nigeria’s response to the 2014 Ebola outbreak during the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan, when the country successfully contained transmission after Liberian-American Patrick Sawyer introduced the virus into Lagos.
He referenced the role of the then Minister of Health, Dr. Onyebuchi Chukwu, and the late Dr. Stella Adadevoh, who treated Sawyer and later died after contracting the virus.
According to Adebayo, information surrounding that outbreak was made available to Nigerians in a transparent manner.
“Secondly, we have dealt with Ebola in Nigeria before during the time of Goodluck Jonathan, with Dr. Onyebuchi Chukwu as Minister of Health.
“Everybody in Nigeria had a transparent understanding of Ebola. The person who brought it to Nigeria, Patrick Sawyer, from Liberia, the lead consultant physician who treated him then was Dr. Stella Adadevoh. Everything about it was transparent,” he said.
Adebayo, however, accused the current administration of failing to provide sufficient clarity surrounding the latest case, describing aspects of the response as being “shrouded in mystery.”
He also accused the ruling All Progressives Congress of attempting to politicise public issues, although he provided no evidence that the Federal Government or the Independent National Electoral Commission had proposed postponing the 2027 elections because of Ebola.
INEC has not announced any alteration to the 2027 general election timetable on account of the disease.
Adebayo therefore cautioned against speculation about postponing the election or restricting political activities.
“So, we cannot cancel campaigns, rallies, or shift an important election like the upcoming 2027 poll,” he said.
He added that his campaign would continue its nationwide mobilisation while complying with health regulations and precautionary measures prescribed by public health authorities.
Adebayo urged Nigerians to observe safety measures and promptly report suspected symptoms to appropriate health officials.
His position is broadly consistent with comments by the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Muhammad Ali Pate, who said there was no immediate scientific basis for cancelling political campaigns, conferences or other large gatherings because of the confirmed Ebola case.
Pate said any decision to restrict gatherings would be based on scientific evidence and consultation with public health experts rather than speculation.
The health authorities have meanwhile intensified contact tracing, surveillance and infection-prevention measures following the confirmation of the imported case.
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed that the index patient was a 42-year-old woman who travelled to Nigeria from Uganda through Addis Ababa on October 3.
She developed symptoms on October 7 and was subsequently confirmed positive for the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola on October 20.
The NCDC identified 53 primary contacts connected to the case, including healthcare workers, household contacts and other persons who may have been exposed.
The agency activated its Incident Management System at the highest level and commenced 21-day monitoring of contacts based on their last possible exposure.
A suspected case subsequently identified in Rivers State tested negative for Ebola, contrary to earlier reports that the case was still awaiting confirmation.
The NCDC has repeatedly stressed that being identified as a contact does not mean a person has Ebola, but rather that the individual requires monitoring so that any possible symptoms can be detected and treated quickly.
There was a further development on Monday when the confirmed index patient was evacuated to Switzerland for continued treatment.
The World Health Organisation subsequently said Nigeria had no active Ebola case following the evacuation of the patient and her husband, both Swiss citizens.
According to WHO, the woman was clinically stable after Nigerian health workers managed her through the acute stage of the illness.
Nigeria will, however, continue monitoring 52 contacts, while Switzerland will take responsibility for the patient and her husband, who constituted the 53rd identified contact.
Health authorities have cautioned that the absence of a current active case does not eliminate the need for vigilance because contacts remain within the monitoring period.
Against that background, Adebayo maintained that public health measures should not be allowed to unnecessarily disrupt Nigeria’s democratic timetable.
Beyond the Ebola issue, the SDP presidential candidate also used the Abuja event to speak about his party’s policy programme ahead of 2027.
He said the primary responsibility of government remained the security and welfare of citizens and urged Nigerians to scrutinise the SDP manifesto rather than relying solely on campaign rhetoric.
“The primary duty of the government is security and welfare. If you have studied our manifesto, you will realise it was published in all the major languages namely English, Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba,” he said.
Adebayo said the party had gone further by translating and simplifying its policy proposals into additional Nigerian languages to make them accessible to more voters.
“As we have gone beyond that to further break it down in other languages, which are now in circulation. When we campaign, we want Nigerians to ask questions and cross-examine us on the areas they are clear about in our policy document,” he added.
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