The Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF) has asked the national assembly to step down the controversial Infectious Disease Bill to allow for wider consultations with stakeholders.
Sponsored by the speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Femi Gbajabiamilla, seeks to ensure compulsory vaccination of citizens against infectious diseases, make possession of health card mandatory for international travellers leaving or arriving in Nigeria like the yellow fever card and repeal the Quarantine Act.
The governors, in a communiqué issued on Thursday after a virtual meeting of the forum held yesterday called for the suspension for the bill and set up a three-member committee made up of governors Aminu Masari (Katsina), Aminu Tambuwal (Sokoto) and Simon Lalong (Plateau) to meet with the leadership of the national assembly on the matter.
The communiqué read in part: “Following an update from the governor of Sokoto State and vice chairman of the NGF, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, on the proposed Control of Infectious Diseases Bill, 2020 introduced by the House of Representatives, Governors raised concern with the lack of consultation with State governments who are at the forefront of the epidemic.
“The Forum resolved that the Bill should be stepped down until an appropriate consultative process is held, including a public hearing to gather public opinion and concerns.
“In the light of this, the Forum established a Committee comprising the Governors of Katsina, Sokoto, and Plateau to lead a consultative meeting with the leadership of the National Assembly on the proposed Control of Infectious Diseases Bill, 2020. The NGF Secretariat was also mandated to comprehensively review the Bill and its implication on States.”
The controversial bill with 82 sections has provoked the ire of civil society groups questioning the powers it vests in the director general of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and the health minister to make regulations on quarantining, vaccination and prevention of infectious diseases in Nigeria.
