The Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) Wednesday observed that the proposed amendment to the Control of Infectious Disease Bill, 2020, by the House of Representatives posed a threat to the powers of the federating units, insisting that every region has their own peculiarities.
Chairman of the Forum and governor of Ekiti State, Kayode Fayemi, said the governors were not in support of a bill that threatens the powers of the federating units.
The NGF, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) and other stakeholders at the public hearing organised by the House of Representatives suggested
amendments to the bill seeking to repeal the Quarantine Act and enact the Control of Infectious Disease, 2020, which has already passed second reading.
This is just as speaker of the House, Femi Gbajabiamila, as- sured that the lawmakers would consider informed views by Nigerians in enacting the bill.
Fayemi, while making his presentation at the public hearing, noted that that the bill gave governors very scant operational spaces to manoeuvre.
Fayemi said the bill seeks to take away the only authority the governors have to take specific steps and measures in their domains during a disease outbreak.
According to him, as far as the NGF is concerned, the bill is un-democratic and its content is in conflict with some aspects of the 1999 constitution and provisions of Huaman Rights protocols.
While reviewing some provisi- ons of the Bill, Fayemi said: “The bill vests all the powers in the president. The absence of decentralisation of powers to the states is anachronistic and a recipe for confusion.
“Given the diversity of Nigeria and the country’s varying geo-political and social dimensions, and learning from the current experiences with COVID-19, it is imperative that state governments are actively involved in helping to curb the spread of infectious dieases in each of their states,” he said.
The Ekiti State governor further noted that “the dissimilarity in the country’s composition means that were the Bill currently before the House to pass in its present form, the NCDC was ill-equipped to ade- quately address the peculiarities of each state.
“Again, the Bill appears to vest overbearing discretionary powers on the director general of the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and the central authorities, while making no provision for reviewing and controlling the exercise of such powers.”
According to him, It is always dangerous to vest uncontrollable powers on any one person.
Although the Forum agreed that the House might have presented the bill in the interest of the people due to the exigency of the time, Fayemi, however doubted that the legislation could be held up to the light of standard legislative analysis.
He further said: “Any intervention seeking to provide a comprehensive legal and policy framework to ensure the effective management of cases involving infectious diseases; streamlining of public health response and preparedness; involvement and coordination of all tiers of government; and transparency in the management of infectious diseases is a positive development but must be conducted within the context of the federation carrying every stakeholder along and holding extensive consultations.
The Nigeria Labour Congress re- presented by its president, Ayuwa Wabba, highlighted 17 grey areas in the bill.
Wabba who represented NLC, Trade Union Congress and ASCAB said, “Having read through the Bill, the only reinforcing and overwhelming voice is that of dictatorship.
“In presenting this memorandum, we choose to uphold our con- cern that the claim of commitment to protection of public health and safety does not turn out to be an ex- cuse for the provision of a tool in the hand of an autocrat, empowered to ride roughshod over the fundamen- tal rights of the Nigerian people.”
Meanwhile, the speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila, has said that the House would consider informed views of Nigerians in enacting the infectious disease bill.
Gbajabiamila who was represented by the House leader, Alhassan Ado Doguwa, assured that the House would consider the views of Nigerians in passing the Bill.
The chairman, the House Committee on Healthcare Services, Tanko Yusuf Sununu, had at the hearing hinted that about 130 memorandum were received from different groups of Nigerians.
