The minister of aviation and aerospace development, Festus Keyamo, has directed the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) to place 46 persons who came in contact with an Ebola patient on a no-fly list for 21 days.

The minister announced the directive in an X post on Wednesday after a virtual meeting with Muhammad Ali Pate, coordinating minister of health and social welfare, over the Ebola outbreak.

Nigeria confirmedits first case of Ebola Bundibugyo virus disease (BVD) on Tuesday after a diplomat who reportedly arrived from Uganda fell ill in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Pate said the Federal Government has identified 44 close contacts for tracing to prevent further transmission.

Keyamo said Pate provided him with the list of 44 persons who came in contact with the affected person at a hospital after the patient developed symptoms, as well as two domestic staff.

The minister said efforts are ongoing to isolate the contacts pending confirmation that they had not been infected with the virus.

He added that he had directed the NCAA to notify all local and international airlines of the development.

Keyamo also directed the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) to strengthen Ebola response and surveillance protocols at all international airports.

According to him, the measures being implemented by FAAN include enhanced health screenings, temperature checks, travel history tracking, digital health declarations and coordination with the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC).

He said the measures followed earlier regional outbreak alerts.

Ebola is an infectious disease caused by a virus. It spreads through direct contact with the blood or body fluids of someone who is sick with the disease or has died from it, or through contact with contaminated materials.

The World Health Organisation has noted that Ebola is a fatal infection that can begin with fever, headache, muscle pain and weakness before progressing to vomiting, diarrhoea and, in some cases, internal or external bleeding.

1. A diplomat diagnosed with the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, has reportedly deteriorated into multi-organ failure, as the Federal Government and state governments intensify surveillance, contact tracing and emergency preparedness to prevent the spread of the deadly disease.

The patient’s name and nationality were, however, not disclosed.

The Director of Public Health Laboratory Service at the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, Olajumoke Babatunde, gave the update at an emergency meeting of the agency in Abuja on Wednesday.

2. The Ogun State Government has again shut some schools in Ijebu-Ode, Ago-Iwoye and Ijebu-Igbo after more than 100 pupils were reportedly hospitalised on Wednesday following exposure to an offensive gaseous substance. The affected pupils were taken to the State Hospital, Ijebu-Ode, the General Hospital, Ijebu-Igbo, and other healthcare facilities for treatment.

3. The Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday warned the defence lawyers against delay in the trial of four suspects who allegedly kidnapped and killed Ekpeyong Asuquo Owoh, an operative of the Department of State Services (DSS). Justice Joyce Abdulmalik gave the warning after Kelvin Ekwe and Geoffrey Uwadiegu, who appeared for the defendants, expressed unreadiness to commence trial and sought an application for adjournment.

4. The Federal Government says it has settled more than N100bn in longstanding gas debts since January 2026 as part of efforts to strengthen the gas-to-power value chain. The Special Adviser to the President on Oil and Gas, Mrs Olu Verheijen, disclosed this on Wednesday in her keynote address at the Africa Interviews Sustainability Forum 2026 in Lagos. She said the settlement was carried out under the administration’s Presidential Power Sector Financial Reforms Programme.

5. Vice President Kashim Shettima on Wednesday urged state governments to end their dependence on the Federal Government for solutions to local power problems. He said states should set up functional electricity markets under the Electricity Act 2023. He spoke at the opening of the National Stakeholders’ Workshop on the Electricity Act 2023 at the State House Banquet Hall, Presidential Villa, Abuja.

6. The Rivers State Police Command has confirmed that lives were lost after a boat reportedly capsized during a confrontation between youths and men in military uniform over an oil spill in Kula, Akuku-Toru Local Government Area of the state. Police said an investigation had begun to determine the exact number of casualties and the circumstances surrounding the incident, which occurred on Tuesday evening.

7. The Ekiti and Kebbi State Houses of Assembly have endorsed the proposed constitutional amendment to pave the way for the establishment of state police, with Ekiti passing the bill and Kebbi lawmakers adopting a resolution in support of decentralised policing to tackle insecurity. Before the latest endorsements, at least 13 states — Osun, Edo, Oyo, Rivers, Zamfara, Kwara, Nasarawa, Ogun, Delta, Taraba, Cross River, Plateau and Enugu — had passed the bill.

8. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu said his political differences with former Kano State Governor, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso will not diminish his personal affection for the opposition politician. Tinubu made the declaration on Wednesday in a birthday tribute to Kwankwaso, who turned 70, describing the former Minister of Defence as a longstanding friend and influential figure in Nigeria’s political development.

9. The Nigerian Education Loan Fund has said that accessing student loans is voluntary, urging tertiary institution students to apply only when they genuinely need financial assistance to pursue their education. The clarification was contained in a statement signed by the Director of Strategic Communications, NELFUND, Oseyemi Oluwatuyi, in Abuja on Wednesday.

10. The All Progressives Congress (APC) has stated that it is targeting maximum votes in the forthcoming 2027 presidential poll. This follows the commitment of Nigerians in the Diaspora to join the campaign train for the re-election of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. ​Speaking in Abuja on Wednesday at a briefing held by the Presidential Campaign Council’s Directorate of Diaspora Mobilisation, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), emphasized the immense value of Nigerians abroad to the nation’s economic development

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President Bola Ahmed Tinubu says his political differences with Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, former Governor of Kano State, will not diminish his personal affection for the opposition politician.

Tinubu made the remark on Wednesday in a birthday tribute to Kwankwaso, who turned 70, describing the former Minister of Defence as a longstanding friend and influential figure in Nigeria’s political development.

The President, who is running for a second term on the platform of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), and Kwankwaso, the vice-presidential candidate of the opposition Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) and running mate to Peter Obi, are currently on opposite sides of the political divide.

But in what appeared to affirm personal friendship over partisan considerations, Tinubu maintained that their political rivalry would not undermine the relationship they had built over more than three decades.

“That we are in different political parties and competing on different platforms in the January 2027 election will not remove my affection for Senator Kwankwaso,” the President declared.

The tribute comes as political activities intensify ahead of the presidential election, with the two politicians from rival camps seeking victory at the polls.

Tinubu recalled that his relationship with Kwankwaso dated back to 1992, when both served in the National Assembly during the aborted Third Republic, with Kwankwaso in the House of Representatives and himself in the Senate.

He noted that their political paths crossed again in 1999 when they were elected governors of Kano and Lagos states, respectively, at the beginning of the Fourth Republic.

According to the President, their shared experience as members of the pioneering class of governors in the current democratic dispensation helped forge a relationship that has endured despite their subsequent political disagreements.

“Senator Kwankwaso and I have had a longstanding association, dating back to our time in the National Assembly in 1992, he in the House of Representatives and I in the Senate, and later in 1999 when we both emerged as governors of our respective states.

“As members of the Class of ’99 Governors, we both played pivotal roles in laying the foundation for the democracy the nation enjoys today”, Tinubu stated.

The President also reflected on their political journey, acknowledging that although they took different political routes over the years, circumstances brought them together in 2013 when they formed the APC.

“Shaped by different political choices, our political paths differed until we coalesced in 2013 to form the All Progressives Congress. Since then, history and service have kept us intertwined”, he said.

Tinubu further acknowledged Kwankwaso’s contributions to governance and national development, particularly his service as a two-term governor of Kano State, Minister of Defence, senator and presidential candidate.

The President, who recognised Kwankwaso’s current position as a vice-presidential candidate, described him as an important political figure whose contributions to the nation’s democratic evolution deserved acknowledgement irrespective of partisan affiliations.

“I must acknowledge Senator Kwankwaso’s immense contributions to Kano State and Nigeria as a two-term Governor, former Minister of Defence, former Senator, former presidential candidate, and now a presidential running mate.

“Senator Kwankwaso remains an influential figure and a progressive politician,” Tinubu said.

Kwankwaso, who contested the 2023 presidential election on the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) platform, is now seeking the vice-presidency alongside Obi on the NDC platform in the January 2027 election.

The President wished Kwankwaso continued good health and fulfilment, expressing hope that he would remain actively involved in the country’s democratic process.

“As the former governor marks this milestone, I wish him good health, personal fulfilment, and many more years of engagement in the nation’s democratic process”, Tinubu stated.