Tinubu approves ₦45bn for disease screening at five airports
- The Federal Executive Council approved about ₦45.08 billion for biosecurity systems at five international airports.
- Health Minister Ali Pate said the 20-year deal with BioHealth Consortium covers Lagos, Abuja, Kano, Port Harcourt and Enugu.
- The approval follows Nigeria's imported Ebola case, and Pate said the patient has recovered.
Nigeria will spend about ₦45.08 billion on new equipment to spot infectious diseases at five international airports, after the Federal Executive Council approved the plan on Wednesday.
Health Minister Ali Pate briefed reporters after the council meeting in Abuja, which was chaired by President Bola Tinubu. He named the airports as Lagos, Abuja, Kano, Port Harcourt and Enugu.
The work will be handled by BioHealth Consortium under a 20-year public-private partnership. Daily Post and The Whistler put the figure at ₦45 billion, while Leadership reported ₦45.08 billion.
According to Pate, the systems will test wastewater from aircraft and take air and surface samples, using specialised tools to detect dangerous pathogens. They are also meant to help the agencies that handle public health and border checks work together better.
Why it matters now
The approval comes as Nigeria tightens its guard against Ebola. The country confirmed an imported case on October 20, 2026, after tests found the Bundibugyo virus in a woman who had travelled from Uganda through Addis Ababa.
The patient fell ill on October 7 and sought treatment in Abuja on October 11, according to The Whistler. She was moved to Switzerland on October 26.
Pate said on Wednesday that the patient had recovered, Leadership reported. Contact tracing and other measures to stop the virus spreading are still in place.
The World Health Organisation has said Nigeria must go 42 days without another confirmed or probable case before the outbreak can be called over. That means the coming weeks will be closely watched.
For travellers, the new airport systems are meant to catch threats early, before they spread into communities. For the health authorities, the test is whether the equipment and the coordination between agencies work in practice.
What happens next
The contract with BioHealth Consortium is expected to run for 20 years, with the company delivering and running the systems. Nigerians will be watching whether the airports are actually equipped and whether the Ebola contact monitoring ends without new cases.