Storm in a teacup
The hullaballoo about the Infectious Diseases Bill, before the House of Representatives, and its variant before the Senate, is un-called for. While we support those who are demanding a public hearing before the passage of the bill, we condemn those trying to shoot down the bill. No doubt, the legislative procedure provides for public hearing, to ensure that stakeholders critically examine every bill, before it is passed into law.
While everyone is entitled to his/her doubts, we find it difficult to equate an amendment of a 1926 colonial law, with a determination to sell Nigeria to foreign interests. Perhaps, because we have never been faced with a major pandemic since the Spanish Flu, we had to rely on such a legal relic to deal with a 21st century challenge. We however note the argument by Femi Falana, SAN, that the 2018 National Centre for Disease Control Act provides answers to the deficiencies of the 1926 Act.
As a democracy, the National Assembly, by virtue of section 4 of the 1999 constitution , is empowered “to make laws for the peace, order and good government of the federation or any part thereof with respect to any matter included in the exclusive legislative list set out in Part 1 of the second schedule to this constitution.” Of note, item number 54 on the said exclusive legislative list deals with quarantine, which has been the most contentious of issues arising from COVID-19 pandemic.
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