…As Ekweremadu kicks against House version

…As Senate Observes a Minute Appreciation, Silence for Health Workers

…A Minute Silence in honour of late Goni

By Henry Umoru

A re-titled Controversial Bill on Control of Infection Diseases Bill 2020 was Tuesday, introduced in the Senate following the outbreak of the Coronavirus COVID-19 that is ravaging the world.

There was outrage as the Control of Infectious Diseases Bill that generated controversy after being passed second reading in the House of Representatives, but the bill with a new name, was read the first time yesterday at the Senate during plenary.

During plenary Tuesday, a new bill tagged National Health Emergency Bill, 2020, and sponsored by the Chairman, Senate Committee on Primary Health Care and Communicable Diseases, Senator Chukwuka Utazi, Peoples Democratic Party, PDP,  Enugu North was mentioned for first reading.

Soon after it was read the first time by the Clerk of the Senate, Nelson Ayewoh, former Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, PDP, Enugu West kicked.

Ekweremadu who came under Order 14(1) of the Senate Standing Orders as Amended, demanded for the draft copy of the Bill or in gazzetted form, insisting that the content of the bill must be made open before subjecting it to any consideration.

The former President of the Senate said that a draft copy of the bill should be shared to lawmakers to enable them know whether it is the controversial bill or not.

Ekweremadu in kicking  against the bill said that  his privileges and that of the other Senators would be breached if details of the contents are not made available to them before given further legislative consideration.

He said, ” In line with Order 14(1) , which has to deal  with privileges , as one of the serving Senators , I move that draft copies of the bill should be made available before any other legislative action is taking on it .

“This is very important because , it won’t augur well for the Senate to to follow the same route with House of Representatives where a controversial Bill on Control of Infectious Diseases , was passed for first and second reading last week.

“Copies of the one that had just been passed for first reading in the Senate today , must be made available to us for required responses and contributions at the appropriate time.”

Meanwhile, there was a strong indication that the Bill would be resisted by the Senators as  some Senators alleged that the new bill may have been disguised, with under current meaning and or may have been the replica of the controversial bill presently before  the House of Representatives, hence the necessity for Senators to be provided with the draft copy.

The  President of the Senate, Senator Ahmed Lawan immediately  ordered that the bill be distributed to all Senators and further ruled that the second reading would be taken next week in plenary after all the Senators may have perused and X-rayed the document.

Consequently, Lawan, directed the Sergeants at arms in the Chamber to distribute copies of the bill to all Senators ahead of its consideration for second reading next week Tuesday.

Recall that there  have  been growing concerns that the proposed Infectious Diseases Bill, if passed and signed into law,  would give excessive powers to the Director-General of Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, NCDC and also allow m for a health sector controlled by a totalitarian agency.

READ ALSO: PHOTOS: All masked up as lawmakers resume plenary

Many people have also  posited that the bill is draconian and has a  semblance of Singapore’s Infectious Diseases Act of 1976.

For instance, Section 48 of the bill proposes that “the director-general of the NCDC may by order direct unvaccinated persons to undergo vaccination or other prophylaxis within such period as may be specified in the order.”

Answering questions from Journalists after plenary, the sponsor of the bill, Senator Chukwuka Utazi  explained that contents and intendment are not the same with the one before the House of Representatives .

Senator Utazi said, “Although I have not read the content of the one before the House, but provisions such as compulsory vaccinations for all citizens and other compulsion for that matter are not there .

“The main purpose of the bill is to strengthen our  Quarantine Act by way of required amendments  and to take care of all the issues that have to with the management of pandemic  like the ranging COVID-19.

“In doing that, we want to ensure that instead of having firebrigade approach of solving the problem of this nature, we have a law that can handle all that. We want to put everything under a law to address health issues.”

According to him, unlike the one before the House of Representatives, the National Health Emergency Bill introduced on the floor of the Senate today , will not generate any controversy as not less than 102 senators have written their names as co- sponsors.

Utazi said, “Don’t see any controversy about the bill that 102 members of the Senate sponsored. The bill is to address the issue that is  posing public health emergency around the world.

“There are so many things that are not covered under the Quarantine Act. These are the things  that are troubling the country today which must be addressed through required legislation in form of the bill.

“I have not read the House bill, but what I know is that we have a bill that will adress the health issues connected with COVID-19 and beyond, so that such issues, whenever they occur in the future, we have a law to address them.

“What we have in the Quarantine Act doesn’t cover all the protocols that we supposed to follow. If they were there, the Presidency and the PTF will not be coming up with one guideline or the other. We want to harmonize the approach on how to face the issue.

“The bill does not make vaccination compulsory. If you have yellow fever, and  you want to travel outside the country, they will demand for yellow fever vaccination certificate at the airport. If you don’t have it, you will be vaccinated there.”

AlsoTuesday, the Senate separately observed a one minute appreciation as well as silence  in honour of health workers in the frontline of battle  against Coronavirus, COVID-19 Pandemic in Nigeria as well as those who have died among them.

Senate resolution was sequel to a point of order 43 raised by Senate Majority Leader, Senator Yahaya Abudulahi, APC Kebbi North and seconded by Senate Minority Leader, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, PDP, Abia South.

In his remarks, President of the Senate, Senator Ahmad Lawan  congratulated the people on their conduct towards the fight against COVID-19.

He further advised Nigerians to continue to adhere strictly to the preventive measures of COVID-19 as prescribed by the Presidential Task Force (PTF) and health experts to avoid spread of the pandemic.

The Senate also observed a minute silence in honour of former Governor of Borno State, Late Alhaji Mohammed Goni.

The resolution of the Senate was sequel to a motion by Senator Abubakar Kyari, All Progressives Congress, APC,  Borno North  to that effect.

Senator Kyari came under Order 43.

AlsoTuesday, the Senate at plenary adopted the amended report of ad-hoc committee on Nigerian Security Challenges on urgent need to restructure, review and reorganise current security architecture in the country.

Vanguard