More than 3,000 people have died in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) following the country’s deadliest-ever Ebola outbreak, according to the latest official figures released on Wednesday.

The Congolese National Institute of Public Health said the outbreak has so far killed 3,007 people and infected 6,186 others, representing a fatality rate of 48.6 per cent.

SEE MORE: DR Congo Ebola Crisis Deepens as Frontline Health Workers Threaten Strike Over Unpaid Salaries

The health agency also reported that 1,409 people have recovered from the disease.
The outbreak, which was declared in mid-May, originated in the remote northeastern province of Ituri and has spread to six provinces, including areas severely affected by insecurity and the activities of armed groups.

Ebola is transmitted through contact with infected bodily fluids and can cause severe haemorrhagic fever. The virus has killed more than 15,000 people across Africa over the past five decades.

The current outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo strain, for which there is currently no approved vaccine or treatment.

Health authorities are facing significant challenges in containing the virus, with the response reportedly hampered by inadequate resources, insecurity and mistrust among some communities.

Several vaccines and treatments are being tested against the Bundibugyo strain. Existing approved Ebola vaccines are effective against the Zaire strain, which was responsible for the largest known Ebola outbreak.

The World Health Organisation has recommended a Phase Three clinical trial of Ervebo, a vaccine used against the Zaire strain, to determine whether it can also protect against Bundibugyo.

WHO experts remain uncertain about Ervebo’s effectiveness against the strain, although preliminary data indicate that it could provide some level of protection.

Meanwhile, a batch of 16,250 vaccine doses arrived in DR Congo at the end of August for frontline health workers, with vaccination beginning shortly afterwards in Kisangani, the capital of Tshopo Province.

The latest outbreak has already surpassed the country’s previous worst Ebola epidemic, which occurred between 2018 and 2020 and killed nearly 2,300 people from about 3,500 reported cases.

Authorities and international health partners are continuing efforts to contain the outbreak as infections and fatalities rise.

Federal Capital Territory Minister, Nyesom Wike, has defended the inclusion of former Humanitarian Affairs Minister, Betta Edu, in President Bola Tinubu’s 2027 campaign structure despite her ongoing investigation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

Wike argued that being investigated by the EFCC does not prevent an individual from participating in political activities or canvassing votes for a candidate.

The former Rivers State governor made the remarks on Wednesday during a media parley he hosted, which was aired on Channels Television.

SEE MORE: Betta Edu: EFCC Grills Officials, ICPC Recovers N50bn

The FCT minister questioned what he described as a double standard in the criticism surrounding Edu’s inclusion in the campaign council, noting that people facing criminal allegations had previously contested elections and won.

“You (media) were asking the moral justification of putting someone who has an EFCC case to be in a campaign council. And I was just watching the lady. The lady doesn’t even know what to say,” Wike said.

He added, “Now, somebody cannot be in a campaign to canvass for votes for a particular person, but somebody who has an EFCC case can contest an election and win an election?”

Wike said there had been instances where individuals facing criminal allegations contested elections and eventually became elected officials.

“This person had an EFCC case in court, charged to court. He contested an election and became a Governor,” he said without naming the person.

The minister further argued that even a person serving a prison sentence could canvass votes for a political candidate.

“Listen. Even a prisoner… maybe they have somebody in prison. I go and visit the person. The person can tell me, ‘My brother, I want you to support so-and-so candidate.’ A prisoner has canvassed for vote,” Wike stated.

He also referred to an unnamed person allegedly linked to a coup plot, saying the individual had also canvassed votes for a political candidate.

“I was watching, when Channels, when Sunrise, who came up to say, ‘Ah, how can somebody who’s being looked for as a coup plotter is now canvassing for votes for so-and-so government?’ Somebody EFCC is looking for is now canvassing for votes for so-and-so person.

“But… a party, or a candidate cannot, simply because EFCC is investigating the person, cannot be a member of the campaign council to campaign for votes,” he said.

Controversy over Betta Edu’s campaign role
The controversy followed Edu’s inclusion in the campaign structure for Tinubu’s 2027 re-election bid.

Edu was listed as Director of Women Mobilisation in the APC Presidential Campaign Council.

She was suspended by President Tinubu in January 2024 following allegations of financial impropriety and was subsequently investigated by the EFCC.

However, Edu has not been publicly declared guilty of any offence in connection with the investigation.

APC campaign council spokesperson, Kemi Asekun-Shittu, had earlier defended Edu’s inclusion during an interview on Channels Television’s Morning Brief.

Asekun-Shittu said Edu had not been found guilty and argued that it would be unfair to prevent her from participating in political activities while awaiting the outcome of the investigation.

“I’d like to say that for Betta Edu, for example, she has not been found guilty. And it will be unfair to ask that she leaves her life or refuses to live her life until the EFCC declares her,” she said.

She added that Edu deserved an opportunity to present herself again for the party, noting that the case had lasted almost two years.

Asekun-Shittu also said the campaign committee was an internal party affair and that the APC could determine who would serve on it, while stressing that the list was not final and could still be reviewed.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.) remitted N7.91tn to the Federation Account between January and July 2026, despite a decline in crude oil and condensate production in July.

The company disclosed this in its July 2026 operational and financial performance report released on Wednesday.

According to the report, NNPC recorded N3.09tn in revenue and N279bn in profit after tax during the period under review.

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However, crude oil and condensate production fell from 1.73 million barrels per day in May to 1.72 million barrels per day in June, before dropping further to 1.68 million barrels per day in July.

NNPC attributed the July decline to operational disruptions affecting several of its assets.

“July crude oil production was affected by a combination of operational disruptions across several assets, including facility outages, equipment unavailability, pipeline incidents, and production constraints,” the company stated.

The decline in output was also reflected in crude oil and condensate sales, which fell to 22.53 million barrels in July from 28.23 million barrels in June.

The July sales comprised 21.53 million barrels of crude oil and one million barrels of condensate.

NNPC said it was implementing measures to reverse the decline and improve production, including preventive maintenance programmes aimed at sustaining facility uptime and reducing unplanned downtime.

“Production improvement efforts will focus on sustaining high facility uptime through effective preventive maintenance programmes and minimizing unplanned downtime,” the company stated.

It added that the measures would include optimising export operations at FEPL and Nembe EP, developing incremental production opportunities and strengthening operational reliability across key facilities.

“Additional measures include the activation of tandem offloading operations at Akpo and Erha to enhance export flexibility and the restoration of barging operations at Obodo to improve production evacuation and sustain output,” NNPC added.

On gas infrastructure, the company reported 100 per cent availability of its upstream pipeline network.

NNPC also said pre-commissioning activities had been completed on the River Niger Crossing section of the Obiafu-Obrikom-Oben gas pipeline, with first gas initially targeted for August 2026.

On the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano gas pipeline, the company said construction and installation works were at an advanced stage to facilitate early gas delivery to Abuja in 2026.

The AKK pipeline recorded 95 per cent availability, while NNPC Retail’s petrol stations recorded 52 per cent availability, with distribution varying across regions.

Meanwhile, natural gas production stood at 7.49 billion standard cubic feet per day, while gas sales were 4.6 billion standard cubic feet per day.

NNPC, however, cautioned that the figures contained in the report remained provisional and subject to reconciliation with relevant stakeholders.

“All production, sales and financial figures are provisional and subject to reconciliation with relevant stakeholders,” the company stated.