Tinubu’s Government Not Transparent About Its Handling Of The Ebola Situation – Adebayo

The Presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Prince Adewole Adebayo, has accused the Federal Government of shrouding the current public health scare in mystery, insisting that poverty, not Ebola, remains Nigeria’s biggest public health crisis.

Speaking at a dinner with journalists on Sunday evening, Adebayo said the biggest public health crisis in Nigeria now is not Ebola, contrary to insinuations in some quarters, adding that unlike the Ebola outbreak which was transparently managed, the current situation is wrapped in secrecy.

Recalling Nigeria’s successful containment of Ebola in 2014, Adebayo said the country had a clear leadership structure under then Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu, with full disclosure of the index case from Liberia and the doctors who treated patients.

He lamented that today, the country has a Minister of Health and a Surgeon General but Nigerians are not given transparent information about the nature and scope of the health emergency, fuelling fear and speculation.

He argued that government should not contemplate postponing elections because of a health scare, noting that Nigeria did not stop national life during malaria, typhoid and other endemic diseases, but should instead focus on protocols.

“Unlike all things that the APC government discusses, there is always deception. We dealt with Ebola in Nigeria before during the time of Prof. Chukwu as leader. Everybody had a transparent understanding of it. This one is shrouded in mystery,” Adebayo said.

The SDP presidential hopeful also dismissed President Bola Tinubu’s 90-day cost of living plan as a political calendar, saying it was a wonderful coincidence that the plan was launched 90 days to the election after nearly four years in office.

He alleged that the APC government has perfected the theft of democracy through invasion of the SDP national secretariat and attempts to stop its conventions, describing it as worse than the Watergate scandal.

Adebayo charged the media to be independent, balanced and unbiased, but not neutral in the face of killings, poverty and criminalisation of the state, stressing that the SDP manifesto has been published in English, Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba.

Similarly, the party’s Vice Presidential candidate, Yusuf Magaji Bugaje, said Nigeria faces an existential threat as insecurity and poverty have eroded human life and dignity, with millions displaced and roaming streets in Sokoto, Borno, Zamfara, Benue and other states.

Bugaje said nearly half of Nigeria’s territory is no longer under effective federal control, with deserted highways from Biu to Damboa and Biu to Gwoza, where citizens pay taxes to bandits and seek justice in their courts.

He warned that food and health security have collapsed, as farmers need to sell three bags of maize to buy one bag of fertilizer, while over 70 percent of drugs in hospitals are imported, leaving Nigeria vulnerable to emergencies.

He urged the press to go beyond superficial reporting and interrogate the state of the nation, adding that turn-by-turn politics has never developed any country, citing Rwanda, Singapore and South Korea as examples.

“In times of moral crisis, those who seek to be neutral, they find themselves at the hottest part of hell. There are certain moral issues that we cannot stand by,” Bugaje stated.

For his part, the National Chairman of the SDP, prof. Sadiq Gombe, said leadership is defined by welfare, security and shared beliefs, which he said are missing under the current administration, and described the SDP as the most credible alternative.

He said the party remains the only one among 18 that produced a comprehensive policy document on security, production and prosperity, translated into multiple Nigerian languages for citizens to interrogate and contribute.

He called on journalists to enlighten the public on the blueprint and sustain their support for the party’s rescue mission ahead of 2027.

“We are presenting to Nigeria the best credible alternative. Our manifesto is out there for Nigerians to interrogate, engage, critique and contribute towards rescuing the country,” said.