Nigeria’s 2027 general election could face postponement if the Ebola outbreak spreads widely enough to pose a significant public health risk, Jide Idris, director-general of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), has said.
Idris, however, said there was currently no reason to consider postponing the election, expressing hope that the outbreak would be contained without disrupting the electoral timetable.
He made the remarks during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Monday, October 26, in response to questions about whether the Ebola situation could affect the 2027 polls.
“We hope the election will not be postponed, but if the thing gets wide enough, that might be considered. As of now, there is no need for that,” he said.
His comments come as Nigeria continues its response to an imported case of Ebola Bundibugyo virus disease confirmed in the Federal Capital Territory on October 20.
The index patient was medically evacuated to Switzerland on October 26. However, authorities have continued monitoring identified contacts and investigating possible exposure, meaning the evacuation alone does not signify that the outbreak has officially ended.
In a separate update, Muhammad Ali Pate, coordinating minister of health and social welfare, said Nigeria could declare the outbreak over as early as December 7 if no further confirmed or probable cases were detected and the required 42-day countdown was validated by the NCDC and the World Health Organisation.
Any further confirmed or probable case could require a fresh countdown, potentially changing the projected date.
Idris said the NCDC had been monitoring developments in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where the wider outbreak began, and had anticipated the possibility of the virus reaching Nigeria because of population movement and international air travel.
He also rejected suggestions that public health concerns could be used as a political tool ahead of the elections, saying disease control should not be politicised.
The possible postponement of the election would depend on how the outbreak develops and the resulting public health risks, rather than the mere presence of a case, his remarks indicated.
Nigeria’s electoral timetable is already in preparation, with the Independent National Electoral Commission having scheduled the presidential and National Assembly elections for January 16, 2027.
For now, the NCDC says there is no justification for shifting the election. Any change would depend on further developments in the outbreak and the public health assessment of the risks involved.
