ABUJA— A day after a group of women protested at the National Assembly over the delay in the passage of the National Health Bill, the Senate, yesterday, passed the bill with President of the Senate, senator David Mark, insisting that the passage of the Bill had nothing to do with the protest.

Senator Iyabo Obasanjo, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, who presented the report yesterday explained that the delay in the passage of the Bill was occasioned by “Technical Difficulties.”

Women protesting against the apparent unwillingness of law makers to pass the Health Bill at the National Assembly premises, Abuja, Tuesday. Photo: Gbemiga Olamikan

Senator Mark explained that the bill was important to the nation and must be passed by the Senate, saying: “It  is an important bill.

It is true that it has taken a while but we were able to pass it. Anything that has to with health has to pass through rigorous scrutiny. We did not pass the bill because people were protesting yesterday; we are only doing our work. The bill was slated in the order paper yesterday when they were protesting.”

While presenting the conference committee report on a Bill, Senator Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello  said the delay of the passage was as a result of some technical problems.

She said: “Following differences in the two versions of the bill as passed by the two Houses of the National Assembly, a conference committee was constituted in the Senate on Thursday 7th May, 2009 and House on Thursday, 28 May, 2009 to harmonise the differences.

“The bill was thereafter passed in identical form by both Houses and transmitted to the Clerk of the National assembly for further action. This was not to be, as the Legal Department returned it (Bill) for what they considered to be enactment problem.”

She said the “House of Representatives at the instance of the Minister of Health made new inputs which were not in the version the Senate passed. The paragraphs added were eventually removed and moved back to the original version.”

She disclosed that because of the importance of the bill,  the committee had to start work on the bill all over again because there was no rule that said one Senate could start where the other Senate ended.

The bill among others seek to define, streamline and provide a framework for standard and regulation of health services in the country; spell out rights and duties of healthcare providers, health workers, health agencies and users, and serve as a guide in the development, promotion and formulation of national health amongst others.