The House of Representatives has resolved to hold a Public Hearing on the Infectious Diseases Control Bill, 2020.
The Speaker, Rt Honourable Femi Gbajabiamila, in his resumption speech promised that the House would take the controversial Infectious Diseases, Control Bill, 2020, through a Public Hearing.
“The Control of Infectious Diseases Bill will be put forward to a public hearing where stakeholder contributions will be sought to make improvements to the Bill before it is reviewed and debated by the Committee of the Whole”, the Speaker assured.
He said, “It is from the accumulation of these myriad views, suggestions and good faith critiques from within and outside the House, that we will arrive at final legislation that meets the present and future needs of our country, and which we all can support in good conscience”.
He, however, warned that the Public Hearings may be conducted in line with the COVID-19 guidelines.
“The social distancing guidelines under which this House and the whole country operates, for the time being, means that the usual format of public hearings is not tenable. If a socially distant public hearing becomes workable, we will certainly explore that option”, he said.
He added that “Nonetheless, the House will provide alternative platforms for all Nigerians who desire, to send in written documents that articulate their concerns, make recommendations on amendments and perhaps present other formulations for a new framework for managing infectious diseases in Nigeria. All the contributions we receive will be considered and aggregated to improve the proposed legislation”.
Yesterday, Vanguard had reported how former Senator, Dino Melaye, sued the National assemble over the Disease infectious bill, saying it is against the rights of Nigerians.