The Senate on Wednesday urged the federal government to release emergency funds from the Service-Wide Vote to tackle the Ebola outbreak and prevent further spread.
The resolution followed deliberations on a motion sponsored by Sen. Francis Ade Faduyile (APC-Ondo South) during plenary on the urgent need for mandatory health screening at Nigeria’s international airports, seaports and designated land borders.
Faduyile said the reported outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and its spread to other countries required immediate preventive measures.
He called for compulsory health declaration forms, temperature checks and symptom screening for all arriving international passengers, irrespective of nationality or country of departure.
The senator also proposed enhanced screening for travellers who had visited or transited affected areas within the preceding 21 days, alongside exit screening during declared public health emergencies.
He urged the federal government to equip entry points with trained port health officers, thermal scanners, protective equipment and isolation rooms.
Faduyile further called for the readiness of isolation and treatment centres across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
He also urged the National Assembly to modernise the Quarantine Act of 1926 and ensure adequate funding for the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, NCDC,and Port Health Services.
Seconding the motion, Sen. Ekong Sampson (APC Akwa Ibom South) described Ebola as a deadly threat that required urgent action, warning that a single case could trigger widespread transmission if not contained.
Sampson said Nigeria must take its healthcare system seriously and respond swiftly to protect citizens from the disease.
Similarly, Sen. Adamu Aliero (APC Kebbi Central) said the Federal Ministry of Health had announced measures to address the threat through the NCDC.
During consideration of the funding prayer, Aliero argued that the Senate should not rely solely on the 2027 budget because the outbreak required immediate intervention.
He proposed that the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning should make funds available to the relevant agencies.
He stressed that waiting for a supplementary budget or the implementation of the 2027 budget could cause unacceptable delays.
He therefore proposed that emergency funds should be sourced from the Service-Wide Vote to address the outbreak.
Aliero maintained that the immediate priority was to ensure that the NCDC and Port Health Services had the resources required to contain the disease.
The senate, therefore, adopted the motion and urged the federal government to source funds from the Service-Wide-Vote through the Ministries of Finance and Budget to urgently tackle the disease.
The senate also called for enhanced screening of travellers who had visited or transited affected areas within the preceding 21 days, regardless of nationality.
On his part, Senate President Godswill Akpabio expressed concern over reports that a traveller who entered Nigeria without adequate screening at the point of arrival.
Akpabio said the incident raised questions about the effectiveness of screening arrangements at the country’s entry points.
He recalled Nigeria’s experience during the 2014 Ebola outbreak, warning that a failure to detect an infected traveler early could expose many people to infection.
The Senate President called for comprehensive screening of all arriving international passengers, irrespective of their countries of departure, noting that infected persons could travel through third countries.
He also urged the Senate Committee on Judiciary to engage relevant health authorities immediately to review the Quarantine Act.
The senate urged Nigerians and relevant authorities to remain vigilant and support efforts to prevent the spread of Ebola,