The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has said the 2027 general election could be postponed if the Ebola outbreak spreads widely enough to threaten public health.
The agency’s Director-General, Jide Idris, said there was no reason to consider delaying the polls at present but noted that the situation could change if the outbreak worsened.
Idris spoke on Channels Television’s Politics Today, expressing hope that the disease would not disrupt the electoral timetable.
“We hope the election will not be postponed, but if the thing gets wide enough, that might be considered. As at now, there is no need for that,” he said.
The 2027 general election is scheduled to begin in January, with political parties and aspirants already preparing for the exercise.
Idris also rejected suggestions that the government could use the Ebola outbreak for political purposes, insisting that public health concerns should not be politicised.
He said Nigeria had been monitoring the outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and anticipated the risk of the disease reaching the country because of population movements, international flights and activities at ports of entry.
The NCDC chief explained that any decision to consider postponing the election would depend on the severity of the outbreak and its implications for public health, rather than political interests.
He maintained that, for now, the government had no reason to consider changing the election timetable over Ebola.
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