The All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council has accused former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar of politicising Nigeria’s Ebola response, urging him and other opposition figures to support health authorities in containing the disease.

Dele Alake, spokesperson for the council, made the allegation in a statement issued on Thursday in Abuja.

Alake criticised a statement attributed to Atiku on the reported Ebola case in Nigeria, particularly its reference to President Bola Tinubu and questions over the N10 billion approved for the emergency response.

He said linking Tinubu’s name to Ebola risked ridiculing the President and trivialising a serious public health concern.

The APC spokesperson also faulted Atiku’s comments on the circumstances surrounding the detection of the infected Nigerian who had travelled from Uganda.

He explained that Ebola had an incubation period of between two and 21 days, with symptoms typically appearing eight to 10 days after exposure.

According to him, an infected person cannot transmit the virus to others until symptoms develop.

“This is why it took the infected Nigerian some days before reporting to the hospital, where several tests showed that the person had Ebola,” he said.

On the N10 billion approved for the emergency response, Alake said the fund remained untouched, adding that the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and other surveillance agencies had deployed other available resources.

He commended the agencies for strengthening surveillance at entry points, saying the measures helped alert the government to the index case and initiate contact tracing for 44 contacts.

Alake urged the opposition to acknowledge the efforts of the Presidential Task Force and other agencies involved in the response.

He also faulted an allegation attributed to Atiku that a ministerial briefing on the outbreak was intended to discourage Nigerians from attending campaign rallies or voting.

According to him, the allegation was speculative and unsupported by verifiable evidence.

He said the briefing did not raise the issue but appealed to Nigerians to comply with the protocols announced by the task force.

Alake urged political leaders to avoid politicising public health concerns, stressing the need for responsible communication, adherence to health guidelines and cooperation with relevant authorities.

“Nigerians deserve, first of all, protection from the deadly disease,” he said.