The All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council has said the N10 billion approved by President Bola Tinubu for Nigeria’s Ebola emergency response in June remains untouched, insisting that relevant agencies have been using other available resources to manage the reported infection.

The council also accused former Vice President Atiku Abubakar of politicising the public health situation, arguing that his criticism of the Federal Government’s response risked turning a serious health concern into a political controversy.

In a statement issued in Abuja on Thursday, the council’s spokesperson, Dele Alake, said the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and other agencies involved in disease surveillance had been deploying existing resources to manage the situation.

He maintained that the agencies deserved commendation for strengthening surveillance at the country’s entry points and responding to the reported case involving a Nigerian who had travelled from Uganda.

According to Alake, the surveillance network alerted the authorities to the infection and facilitated contact tracing involving 44 people who had contact with the patient.

The council’s response followed comments attributed to Atiku questioning how the N10 billion approved for the Ebola emergency had been spent.

Alake criticised the former vice president’s statement, particularly its headline linking President Tinubu’s first name to Ebola, describing the framing as an attempt to ridicule the President rather than address the public health challenge.

“We believe linking and rhyming President Bola Tinubu’s name to Ebola only risks turning a serious health concern into a vehicle to ridicule the President of the Federal Republic,” he said.

The APC campaign council also challenged Atiku’s understanding of Ebola transmission, citing the disease’s incubation period of between two and 21 days.

Alake said symptoms typically appeared eight to 10 days after exposure and that infected people could not transmit the virus before developing symptoms.

He argued that this explained why the patient did not immediately report to a hospital, adding that several tests subsequently confirmed the infection.

The council also rejected allegations attributed to Atiku’s camp that a ministerial briefing on the outbreak was intended to discourage Nigerians from attending campaign rallies or voting.

Alake described the allegation as speculative and challenged the opposition to provide verifiable evidence to support it.

He said the briefing had not proposed restrictions on political participation but appealed to Nigerians to comply with the protocols announced by the relevant authorities.

“A responsible opposition will applaud the Task Force for being responsive. But the Atiku camp always goes for cheap shots at the government,” he said.

The council urged Atiku and other opposition figures to refrain from politicising public health emergencies, insisting that containing the threat required cooperation among political parties, health professionals, government agencies and the public.

It also advised Nigerians to avoid spreading rumours, communicate responsibly and observe the preventive measures recommended by health authorities.

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

However, the council’s assertion that the N10 billion allocation remains untouched was not accompanied by documentary details of the fund’s status or an independent accounting of expenditure on the emergency response.

The status of the allocation and the resources deployed by the relevant agencies remain matters of public interest as Nigerians seek assurances about the country’s preparedness to prevent further transmission of the disease.