By Jude Opara
The Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has admonished the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, to desist from playing politics with serious public health issues.
In a statement issued on Thursday, PCC Spokesman Dele Alake criticized Atiku for allegedly using politics as a cover to deliberately insult and disrespect President Bola Tinubu.
The response follows challenges from the former Vice President calling on the Tinubu administration to clarify how the Presidential Task Force disbursed the N10 billion Ebola emergency fund.
“On accountability, the Atiku camp should note that the N10 billion the President approved for the Ebola emergency in June remains untouched, as the NCDC, FAAN, and other agencies involved in surveillance have been spending other available resources.
“The agencies deserve applause for mounting robust surveillance at entry points to avert the spread of Ebola whenever it reaches our shores.
“This surveillance network tipped off the government about the index case and led to the contact tracing of the patient’s 44 contacts,” Alake stated.
Alake further wrote: “Alhaji Atiku Abubakar continues to foul up the political arena with statement after statement dripping with insult and disrespect toward the office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“We believe linking and rhyming President Bola Tinubu’s name with Ebola only risks turning a serious health concern into a vehicle to ridicule the President.”
The Minister of Solid Minerals Development also took a swipe at the ADC candidate over his alleged display of ignorance regarding the dreaded Ebola virus.
“The statement showed patent ignorance about the virus and why the traveler from Uganda was not detected on arrival at the Abuja airport.
“For anyone infected with the virus, the incubation period ranges from 2 to 21 days, with symptoms typically appearing 8 to 10 days after exposure.
“An infected person cannot spread or transmit Ebola to others until they actively develop symptoms.
“ This is why it took the infected individual several days before reporting to the hospital, where tests subsequently confirmed Ebola,” Alake explained.
He dismissed Atiku’s claims that a ministerial briefing was intended to discourage attendance at campaign rallies.
“In this vein, we consider his allegation that a ministerial briefing is intended to discourage attendance at campaign rallies or voting to be purely speculative.
“ Vice President Atiku cannot make such a serious allegation without verifiable evidence, especially in the thick of electioneering.
“In any case, the press conference did not raise this issue, except to appeal to the public to comply with the protocols announced by the Task Force.
“We advise Atiku Abubakar and his hirelings to avoid politicizing public health issues.
“A time like this demands that all Nigerians, including the opposition, rally around health authorities and professionals, communicate responsibly, avoid rumor-mongering, and follow the protocols advised by the Task Force to ensure Ebola does not become a national epidemic,” the statement concluded.
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