General News
NCDC Says Lagos, FCT, Others on High Ebola Alert
Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has placed Lagos, the Federal Capital Territory and several other states on high Ebola alert following the outbreak of the deadly Bundibugyo strain of Ebola Virus Disease in parts of East and Central Africa.
In a national public health advisory issued to Commissioners for Health across the country, the agency warned that Nigeria faces a high risk of importing the virus due to increasing regional transmission, international travel, porous borders, and population movement.
The advisory, dated May 27, 2026, comes amid growing concerns over the spread of the Bundibugyo variant of Ebola, a rare strain for which there is currently no approved vaccine or specific treatment.
States classified by the NCDC as high-risk include Lagos, the FCT, Rivers, Kano, Enugu, Borno, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Taraba, and Adamawa because of their international airports, seaports, border routes and high human traffic.
“The immediate objective of our national preparedness and readiness efforts is to ensure that every State and the FCT can reasonably detect, contain, and respond swiftly to any suspected case while protecting health workers and sustaining essential health services,” the NCDC stated.
The agency disclosed that although Nigeria has not recorded any confirmed case, a dynamic risk assessment conducted after the outbreak was declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern showed that the danger of importation into Nigeria remains high.
According to the NCDC, 1,077 suspected cases and 247 deaths have already been reported in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, with a fatality rate of 24.6 per cent.
It added that the outbreak has also triggered international concern, with suspected cases reportedly identified in India, while Canada announced temporary restrictions on travel applications involving residents of Uganda, DRC and South Sudan.
Uganda has also reportedly introduced border closure measures to contain the spread.
The NCDC stressed that the Bundibugyo strain differs from the Zaire Ebola strain, which existing vaccines and antibody treatments primarily target.
“The current Bundibugyo virus outbreak has no licensed vaccines or approved targeted therapeutics,” the advisory warned.
Health officials also cautioned that Ebola symptoms could initially resemble malaria, Lassa fever, or other common illnesses, making early detection more difficult.
“Health workers must not wait for bleeding before suspecting Ebola in any patient with compatible symptoms and relevant travel or exposure history,” the agency said.
The NCDC noted that Ebola is not airborne and spreads mainly through direct contact with infected blood, body fluids, contaminated materials, or infected animals.
As part of emergency preparedness measures, the agency said its National Emergency Operations Centre has already been activated in alert mode to coordinate nationwide response efforts.
State governments were directed to immediately activate Ebola preparedness structures, identify isolation centres, intensify surveillance at entry points, equip frontline health workers with personal protective equipment and begin public sensitisation campaigns to counter panic and misinformation.
The agency also asked states to submit readiness reports within 72 hours.
Nigeria’s renewed Ebola alert has revived memories of the country’s successful containment of the virus during the 2014 outbreak, when an infected Liberian-American traveller, Patrick Sawyer, arrived in Lagos and exposed dozens of people before authorities intervened.
At the time, public health experts feared a catastrophic outbreak in Lagos due to its dense population and status as one of Africa’s busiest commercial hubs.
However, rapid contact tracing, aggressive isolation measures, emergency coordination and public awareness campaigns helped Nigeria stop the spread within months.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) later praised Nigeria’s response as one of the most effective Ebola containment efforts in Africa.
The latest alert is considered particularly serious because the Bundibugyo variant remains less understood than the more common Zaire strain.
Unlike the Zaire strain, which has approved vaccines and treatments developed after previous West African outbreaks, the Bundibugyo strain currently lacks licensed countermeasures.
Public health experts have long warned that Nigeria’s heavy air traffic, extensive land borders, crowded urban centres and overstretched healthcare system leave the country vulnerable during regional disease outbreaks.
The warning also comes as Nigeria continues to battle multiple infectious disease outbreaks, including Lassa fever, cholera, and meningitis in several states, increasing pressure on the healthcare system.
Health authorities are now urging Nigerians to remain calm, avoid rumours and fake cures, maintain proper hygiene and report suspected symptoms early as surveillance and preparedness measures intensify nationwide.
Nigeria Hydrological Service Agency (NIHSA) has warned of possible floods in parts of Adamawa, Bauchi, Edo, Imo, Enugu, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Kaduna, Plateau, Niger, Benue, and Borno states within the next seven days.
According to information posted on NIHSA X handle, the Agency announced medium flood advisory in force for the next 7 days across Adamawa, Bauchi, and 11 other States.
“Localised inundation is forecast along the main channel; named communities below sit on the projected footprint. Stations: Saminara on the Karam river, Waya Dam Site on the Waya river, Amber on the Amber river.
“Adamawa; Lemsa, Lamurde, Numan Exposure: 147 comm. 49 schis 40 hith 6 mkts17 relig. Bauchi-Bauchi, Ningi, Shira. Exposure: 4 comm. Kaduna; Chikun, Giwa, Igabi, Jaba, Jema’a, Kachia, Kaura, Kauru, +6 more. Exposure: 1 comm.
“Borno-Gubio, Mobbar. Exposure: 680 comm. 8 schls 6 hith 5 mkts 21 relig. Edo-Akoko-Ed, EtsakoEa, EtsakoWe, Ikpoba-Okha, Orhionmw, OviaNort, OviaSo.. Exposure: 3 comm.
“Imo-Aboh-Mba, Oguta, Ohaji/Eg, Okigwe, Owerri North, Owerri West. Exposure: 3 comm. 7 more states affected and severity LGAs”.
NIHSA advised people in the affected areas to “do NOT cross flooded roads, bridges, or fast-moving water on foot or by vehicle.
“Clear drainage channels and river-mouth blockages; avoid building or living in the floodplain and move people, livestock and valuables from the floodplain to pre-identified higher ground,” NIHSA stated.
General News
First Trustees Advocates Estate Planning as an Essential Tool in Every Wealth Creation Strategy
First Trustees Limited, a subsidiary of FirstHoldCo Plc., and a leading provider of fiduciary and trusteeship services in Nigeria, is encouraging individuals, professionals, entrepreneurs, and investors to view Estate Planning not as an end-of-life exercise, but as a strategic investment tool for protecting, preserving, and transferring wealth across generations.
As more Nigerians focus on wealth creation through businesses, real estate investments, and other income-generating assets, experts are emphasizing that building wealth is only one part of the equation.
Equally important is creating structures that ensure those assets remain protected, properly managed, and seamlessly transferred to succeeding generations in accordance with the asset owner’s wishes. Importantly, Estate Planning is not solely for the wealthy, it is a prudent step for anyone with assets, dependants, or a business to protect, regardless of age, profession, or net worth.
Speaking on the importance of Estate Planning, Ereifemi Akeredolu, Managing Director/CEO, First Trustees Limited, noted that Estate Planning should be considered a core pillar of every long-term financial strategy.
“Many people focus on creating wealth but give litle thought to preserving it. Estate Planning is a wealth protection strategy that helps individuals safeguard their assets, secure their family’s future, and ensure that the value they build today continues to benefit future generations.”
Using tools such as Trusts, Wills, and advanced succession plans, individuals can build structures that support wealth preservation, business continuity, asset protection, and intergenerational wealth transfer.
For entrepreneurs and business owners, Estate Planning serves as a powerful tool for ensuring business sustainability, helping organizations remain stable and operational regardless of unforeseen circumstances.
First Trustees continues to emphasize and educate on the importance of Estate Planning as a comprehensive strategy for proactive planning. It remains one of the most important financial decisions an individual can make: it provides clarity, minimizes uncertainty, and protects assets from unnecessary erosion and disputes. It also creates financial security for loved ones, supports business succession and continuity, and facilitates long-term investment and legacy planning.
General News
Nearpays, Nigerian Fintech Becomes First African Startup to Win UN’s AI for Good Innovation Factory
Nearpays, Nigerian fintech, has won the AI for Good Innovation Factory grand finale — the first African startup ever to take the global title in the competition, which runs as part of the United Nations’ AI for Good Global Summit.
The competition drew more than 500 startups worldwide, each pitching AI solutions aimed at social and economic challenges.
The summit itself is organised by the UN through the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in partnership with several UN agencies, convening governments, researchers, startups, and technology companies around AI’s role in development.
Nearpays’ route to the title ran through Johannesburg, where it won the African regional competition, before advancing to the global finals in Geneva.
There, the company progressed through the semi-finals and claimed the grand finale — a first for the continent.
The company describes the win as bigger than a corporate milestone, calling it a victory for African innovation and proof that technology built to solve local problems can compete, and win, on the world stage.
Nearpays was founded to close a stubborn gap in African payments: small and medium-sized businesses that can’t afford or access traditional point-of-sale terminals.
Cost, availability, and deployment hurdles have kept many merchants — particularly in rural and underserved communities — locked out of digital payments.
Its answer is SoftPOS: an AI-powered platform that turns compatible Android smartphones into payment acceptance devices, letting merchants take contactless card payments with nothing more than their phones. AI is embedded across the platform, supporting payment processing, compliance, fraud detection, and business operations.
Crucially, the platform was built for African infrastructure realities — it works both online and offline, so merchants can keep accepting payments even without internet connectivity.
The company credited its team’s years of product development and customer engagement for the result, and thanked the UN, the ITU, and the AI for Good initiative for building a platform where innovators can apply AI to real-world problems.
It also said it hopes the win encourages more African founders to build technology that answers local needs while competing internationally.
For Nearpays, the title closes one chapter and opens another, as the company pushes on with expanding digital financial infrastructure across Afric
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