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By Tracy Moses
The House of Representatives has called on the Federal Government to urgently provide adequate funding to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), warning that the country’s ability to respond effectively to Ebola and other epidemic-prone diseases could be severely compromised if critical funding gaps are not addressed.
The call followed a motion on a matter of urgent national importance sponsored by Hon. Amobi Godwin Ogah during plenary, where lawmakers expressed concern over Nigeria’s preparedness in the face of a renewed Ebola threat in Africa and mounting operational challenges confronting the nation’s foremost public health agency.
Presenting the motion, Ogah noted that the NCDC, which serves as Nigeria’s national public health institute for the management of infectious disease outbreaks and public health emergencies, is facing significant financial constraints despite increasing health security threats across the continent.
He recalled that on May 15, 2026, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) reported an outbreak of Ebola disease in the Ituri Province of the Democratic Republic of Congo, involving the Bundibugyo strain of the virus.
According to the lawmaker, the outbreak poses a significant threat to countries across Africa, including Nigeria, owing to porous borders and inadequate cross-border surveillance mechanisms.
“The House is aware that the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) is the National Public Health Institute responsible for responding to infectious disease outbreaks and public health emergencies,” he said.
He added that the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo “is causing a major public health emergency in Central Africa and may spread to other parts of Africa soon because of the porous nature of our borders and lack of strict cross-border checks.”
Ogah further expressed concern that there are currently no licensed vaccines or targeted therapies specifically approved for the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus, thereby increasing the importance of robust preparedness and response measures.
The lawmaker also drew attention to an advisory issued by the NCDC on May 25, 2026, in which the agency placed Nigeria at high risk of Ebola importation.
He noted that while the Director-General of the NCDC, Dr. Jide Idris, had stated that the agency was intensifying national coordination efforts and had placed the National Emergency Operations Centre on alert mode, the reality on the ground painted a different picture.
“However, it is known that the NCDC received no operational funding in 2025, with no capital releases made to date against the approved 2026 allocation. Furthermore, the overhead releases are highly epileptic and grossly inadequate,” Ogah said.
He questioned how the agency could effectively guarantee emergency preparedness under such conditions.
The lawmaker warned that the prolonged funding shortfall had significantly weakened the country’s health security architecture at a time when donor support, which had previously supplemented government funding for outbreak preparedness and response, was steadily declining.
According to him, the funding crisis has left the agency struggling to meet several critical obligations.
He disclosed that vendors providing essential goods and services to the NCDC had remained unpaid for more than a year, leading to delays in the completion of strategic projects, including zonal laboratories, treatment centres and isolation facilities.
Ogah further stated that resources required for simulation exercises, preparedness drills and after-action reviews had become dangerously limited, reducing opportunities to identify operational weaknesses before outbreaks occur.
He also highlighted shortages of laboratory reagents, consumables and other critical materials required for disease surveillance, screening and diagnosis.
Other challenges identified in the motion include inadequate biosafety and biosecurity infrastructure for handling highly infectious pathogens, limited intensive care and oxygen support systems for severe cases, and insufficient funding for the training and retraining of Rapid Response Teams across the country.
“It is extremely disturbing to note that, at present, this prolonged funding gap has critically constrained core national functions, including outbreak response operations, laboratory services, surveillance systems, logistics coordination, and frontline emergency preparedness activities in Nigeria,” he said.
The lawmaker cautioned that failure to immediately provide the NCDC with the resources required to discharge its mandate could expose the country to serious public health risks.
“If urgent, appropriate funding for the Centre is not immediately met, the strength and capacity of the NCDC to adequately respond to the resurfacing Ebola threat and other epidemic-prone diseases cannot be assured, which is extremely disastrous to Nigeria as a nation,” he warned.
Following deliberations, the House urged the Executive Arm of Government to immediately release adequate funds to the NCDC in line with provisions of the Appropriation Acts to enable the agency settle outstanding liabilities and sustain critical operations.
The House also mandated its Committee on Infectious Diseases to facilitate oversight of the released funds and ensure their proper utilisation, while reporting back to the chamber for further legislative action where necessary.
In addition, lawmakers called on Port Health Authorities to intensify surveillance activities and strengthen border screening measures to prevent the entry of infected persons into the country.
The House Committee on Legislative Compliance was equally directed to monitor implementation of the resolutions and ensure strict compliance by relevant government agencies.
The resolution comes amid growing concerns among public health experts over the resurgence of infectious diseases across parts of Africa and increasing pressure on national health systems to maintain effective surveillance and rapid response mechanisms in the face of emerging epidemic threats.