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Ebola Outbreak Gets Worse, WHO Calls For Urgent Response

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World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus delivers a speech at the opening of the 79th World Health Organization (WHO) assembly in Geneva, on May 18, 2026. (Photo by Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP)

The countries neighbouring the Democratic Republic of Congo are at high risk from Ebola and should act immediately to counter the virus, the World Health Organisation’s head said on Monday.

“Countries bordering DRC are at especially high risk and should take immediate action,” said WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, adding that he would travel on Tuesday to the DRC, the epicentre of the current outbreak of the deadly disease.

“The outbreak is spreading rapidly,” Tedros told a virtual ministerial meeting on the viral haemorrhagic fever, which spreads through direct contact with bodily fluids. It can cause severe bleeding and organ failure.

He said the current outbreak was “especially challenging”.

“First, the delay in detecting the outbreak means that we are now playing catch-up with a very fast-moving epidemic. We are urgently scaling up operations but at the moment, the epidemic is outpacing us,” he said by videolink from Geneva.
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Secondly, the eastern provinces of the DRC, where the outbreak was first detected on May 15, “are highly insecure, with intensified fighting in recent months (and) there is also significant distrust of outside authorities among the local population”.

Thirdly, he pointed out, there were “no approved vaccines or therapeutics” for the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola behind the current outbreak.

The WHO has recorded 10 confirmed Ebola deaths and 220 suspected deaths in the DRC since May 15. One person is confirmed dead in neighbouring Uganda

Ten African countries are at risk of being affected by the Ebola virus, in addition to the DRC and Uganda, the African Union’s health agency, Africa CDC, warned on Saturday.

AFP

Tosin Oyediran

Tosin Oyediran is a journalist at Punch Newspapers with over eight years of professional experience in reporting and storytelling. He is known for conducting incisive interviews and producing compelling human-angle stories that bring clarity and depth to the news. Tosin covers a broad range of beats including politics, health, advocacy, sports, and entertainment, with a strong focus on people-centred reporting. His work reflects firsthand newsroom experience, editorial insight, and a commitment to accurate, engaging, and trustworthy journalism.

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Breaking: Nigerian Workers Demand N300,000 Minimum Wage, FG Faces Fresh Salary Pressure

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The Federal Workers Forum, FWF, has demanded an immediate increase in the federal minimum wage from N70,000 to N300,000, noting that the current salary structure can no longer sustain civil servants amid Nigeria’s rising cost of living.

The Forum made the demand in a letter dated September 2, 2026, addressed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the National Assembly, with the Senate President, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Chief Justice of Nigeria and Head of the Civil Service of the Federation listed among the recipients.

The workers also proposed a new salary structure that would place the highest-paid Level 17 officer on a monthly salary of N1.5 million, while Level 1 Step 1 workers would earn N300,000.

“We call for justice and immediate wage review now, adjust the federal minimum wage to N300,000 and a maximum wage of N1.5m for the Level 17 officers,” the Forum said.
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The FWF argued that the Federal Government had not fully implemented the 2024 minimum wage agreement, claiming that federal workers had yet to receive the full consequential adjustment and associated allowances.

“It will surprise you to hear that the Federal Government has not fully implemented the new national minimum wage since July 2024. We have been in the battle for full consequential adjustment of the new minimum wage,” it said.

Recall that the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, in August 2026, demanded an upward review of the minimum wage to N500,000.

In July 2024, President Bola Tinubu’s government increased the minimum wage to N70,000 per month from N30,000.

However, the cost of living for many Nigerians has tripled between 2024 and 2026.
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BREAKING NEWS: ‘No Support For Military Coup in Niger’ – FG

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The Federal Government has said Nigeria will never support a military coup or any unconstitutional change of government, following claims that the country backed a failed coup attempt in the Niger Republic.

The Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Sola Enikanolaiye, made this known in a statement issued on Thursday.

According to the statement, the claims circulating on social media are baseless and misleading.

Enikanolaiye said Nigeria remained committed to democracy, constitutional rule and political stability in West Africa and would not support any attempt to remove a government through unconstitutional means.
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“Nigeria will never support illegality or unconstitutional change of government anywhere, no matter who is involved or which country is concerned,” he said.

The minister also rejected claims that Nigeria, through its membership of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), supported or endorsed the military takeover in Niger.

He said the Federal Government had already stated its position on the situation in Niger in an earlier statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on August 30, 2026.

According to him, Nigeria remains deeply concerned about developments in Niger and wants the country to return peacefully to stability and constitutional order.

Enikanolaiye said Nigeria’s close historical, cultural and fraternal ties with Niger made peace and stability in the neighbouring country particularly important.

“Nigerians at home and abroad should disregard the videos and narratives circulating online, they are intended to create confusion and tarnish Nigeria’s image,” the statement said.
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