Pate: no ban on rallies over Ebola case, urges politicians not to politicise outbreak
- Health minister Muhammad Pate says the single confirmed Ebola case in Abuja does not yet justify cancelling large gatherings.
- He asked political leaders to keep the outbreak out of politics and to rely on expert advice.
- Pate said the patient has tested positive three times and is still alive.
The Federal Government has no plan, for now, to stop large gatherings, including political campaigns, because of the single confirmed case of Bundibugyo Ebola Virus Disease in the Federal Capital Territory, the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Pate, said on Thursday.
Speaking at a news conference in Abuja, Pate said the case is contained and that any decision on crowds would follow scientific evidence and expert consultation, not politics.
He also criticised political leaders he said were trying to make political capital out of the outbreak, calling such conduct below what is expected of statesmen.
What the minister said
Pate stressed that disease does not belong to any party, tribe or faith. He said health carries no party label, no citizenship, no nationality, no tribe and no religion, and described it as a great unifier.
On gatherings, he said nothing at present suggests that planned large gatherings need to be changed. He added that if the situation changes, the government will consult widely with experts before deciding.
The minister said the confirmed case had returned positive results three times. He said the patient is surviving, and that the government will keep sharing verified information while protecting the patient's privacy.
He warned that any preventable death from the outbreak would amount to a failure by public health officials, and that saving lives must come before political calculations.
Pate urged Nigerians to question claims they see online and to check trusted sources, saying false information could make people resist isolation and quarantine and raise the risk of spread. He recalled how misinformation fed resistance to polio vaccination in Nigeria before collective action helped stop wild poliovirus.
He said the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) and the ministry will keep issuing regular updates, and that Nigeria is working with state governments, the World Health Organization and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.
He asked that political arguments be kept apart from the outbreak response, and that attention stay on the task at hand.
What happens next
The government says it will keep monitoring the case and will only change rules on gatherings if the evidence demands it. For now, planned campaigns and other big events can go ahead, with health authorities promising more updates through the NCDC.
