Senate on Tuesday called on the Federal Government to immediately release emergency funds from the Service Wide Votes to strengthen measures against the potential spread of Ebola, warning that the country could not afford delays in its response.
The resolution followed a motion of urgent national importance sponsored by Senator Francis Faduyile, who raised concerns over the risk of importing the virus and weaknesses in health screening at international airports and other points of entry.
Lawmakers argued that seeking fresh budgetary allocations would take too long and instead pressed for immediate funding for the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) and Port Health Services.
The Senate also urged the National Assembly to repeal and re-enact the Quarantine Act of 1926 to create a modern public health law aligned with the International Health Regulations of 2005.
During the debate, some senators noted claims that President Bola Tinubu had approved N10 billion for the Ebola response, but others said the National Assembly had not received official confirmation of the approval or release of the funds.
Senator Adamu Aliero supported drawing from the Service Wide Votes, saying the country could not wait for a supplementary budget. His position was adopted.
Senator Ekong Sampson backed the motion, stating: “There is a strong case for us to be alive to our responsibilities that we have to respond with every urgency that this health challenge deserves.”
The lawmakers called for compulsory health screening of all international passengers arriving by air, sea or land, including health declaration forms, temperature checks and symptom screening, with enhanced measures for those who had visited or transited through affected areas in the previous 21 days.
They further recommended the deployment of trained Port Health officers, thermal scanners, protective equipment and isolation rooms at all entry points, as well as the readiness of isolation and treatment centres nationwide.
A proposal for lawmakers to conduct on-site visits to principal points of entry was rejected. Instead, relevant committees were directed to liaise with government agencies and report back within four weeks.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio expressed concern over reports that a traveller arriving from Kenya had passed through an airport without temperature checks or other screening, insisting that screening should apply to all international arrivals regardless of origin.
Faduyile, a professor of medicine and former president of the Nigerian Medical Association, recalled Nigeria’s experience with Ebola in 2014, when an infected traveller arrived through Lagos, and warned that an imported case could trigger wider transmission if surveillance and response systems were not strengthened.
