Ebola: Nigerian lawmakers reject visit to country’s entry points, urge FG to release emergency funds

The Senate on Wednesday rejected a proposal for its members to visit the entry points through which a woman infected with Ebola entered the country before she was isolated at a private hospital in Abuja, the nation’s capital.

The upper chamber instead urged the federal government to immediately release emergency funds from the Service Wide Vote to prevent the spread of the Ebola virus.

Lawmakers passed the resolutions during plenary while debating a motion to enforce mandatory health screening at all international airports and other entry points to prevent the spread of Ebola and other epidemic-prone diseases.

The motion was sponsored by Francis Faduyile (APC, Ondo South).

Nigeria confirmed an Ebola case on Tuesday. The patient, a woman who recently arrived in the country on an international flight from Uganda, is currently in isolation and receiving medical care at a private hospital in the Federal Capital Territory.

The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Muhammad Pate, said 44 people had been identified as the patient’s contacts and that the government was tracking them for isolation.

The motion

Mr Faduyile, a professor of medicine, expressed concern about Nigerians’ safety, noting that the strain responsible for the outbreak has no approved vaccine.

The senator said Nigeria needed to strengthen surveillance at its entry points in line with the International Health Regulations, without imposing travel bans or engaging in discrimination.

He urged the Senate to encourage the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) and the Port Health Services to make health screening compulsory for all international arrivals at airports, seaports and designated land borders.

Mr Faduyile said the screening should include health declaration forms, temperature checks and symptom assessments. He also called for enhanced screening of passengers who had been in or transited through affected areas within the preceding 21 days, regardless of their nationality or country of departure.

The senator further recommended exit screening for departing passengers during any declared public health emergency.

He urged the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria and the Nigeria Immigration Service to ensure all entry points are adequately staffed and equipped with trained port health officers, thermal scanners, protective equipment, and isolation rooms.

The lawmaker also called for functional isolation and treatment centres in all 36 states and the FCT.

Mr Faduyile recommended reviewing the Quarantine Act of 1926 to align it with modern public health legislation and the International Health Regulations.

He further urged the Senate committees on Health, Primary Healthcare, Development and Disease Control, Aviation, Interior, and Appropriations to work with relevant agencies, visit major entry points and submit a report within four weeks to guide further legislative action.

Debate

Most senators who contributed to the debate supported the motion and its proposed measures.

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However, the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, while commending Mr Faduyile for sponsoring the motion, objected to the proposal for lawmakers to visit the country’s major entry points.

Mr Akpabio argued the visit was unnecessary, suggesting senators could risk exposure to the virus. He put the proposal to a vote, and most lawmakers opposed the planned visit.

Ekong Sampson, the senator for Akwa Ibom South Senatorial District, said Nigeria needed a stronger health system to protect its citizens from epidemic-prone diseases.

Sadiq Umar, who represents Kwara North Senatorial District, urged the government to deploy appropriate technology to strengthen contact tracing and prevent further transmission of the virus across the country.

Adamu Aliero (APC, Kebbi Central) described the matter as urgently important to the nation. He called on the federal government to immediately release emergency funds from the Service Wide Vote to contain the outbreak, rather than wait for funds previously approved in the budget to be released.

Tahir Monguno (APC, Borno North) also called for an amendment to the Quarantine Act.