The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon.
Femi Gbajabiamila, has stated that a lot of engagement on the proposed
Infectious Diseases Bill brought forward a month ago for consideration has been
ill-informed and outright malicious.
Gbajabiamila stated this yesterday in Abuja at the
opening of the public hearing on the bill to repeal the Quarantine Act and
enact the Control of Infectious Diseases Act.
He emphasised that one month after the Control of
Infectious Diseases Bill was first brought forward for consideration, the House
had witnessed an unprecedented amount of engagement by a cross-section of the
Nigerian public, adding that the House welcomed the enthusiastic participation
of the citizens in the legislative process.
Gbajabiamila stated: "However, it is necessary
to note that a lot of the engagement on this proposed legislation has been
ill-informed and outright malicious. There are those in our society who benefit
from promoting the falsehood that every government action is cynical, and every
policy proposal must be the product of malignant influence.
"We must never succumb to the impulses that
these elements represent, and we must reject them always, as doing so is an act
of excellent service to a nation we love and are beholden to.
"We look forward to producing final
legislation that reflects our own best intentions as well as the considered
contributions of all people of good conscience."
The Speaker stressed that the proposed bill is a
critical piece of legislation that deals with matters of public health which affects
everyone.
According to him, “If we have learned one thing
from the last few months, it is that public health issues can drastically
change our lives in ways we cannot always predict, and yet must be prepared
for.
The Speaker said the conversations that would hold
at the public hearing on Wednesday and Thursday, as well as the numerous written contributions already
received by the House would be considered towards improving the bill.
He stressed that the proposed bill is a legislative
proposal that is imperfect, but would be improved substantially through interactions
with stakeholders, civil society and citizen groups in pursuit of the common
objective of achieving policy interventions that would enhance the wellbeing of
the people.
Meanwhile, the House has barred journalists from
covering the ‘public’ hearing on the controversial bill.
Following criticisms that trailed the bill, the
Speaker on May 11, when he received some civil society organisations in his
office, announced that a public hearing would be held on the bill, which would
be open to submission of memorandum and position papers from members of the
public.
However, when journalists turned up to cover the
event, they were turned back by operatives of the Sergeant-at-Arms, who said it
was only the House Committee on Health Services Chairman, Tanko Sununu, that
would clear journalists accredited to cover the activities of the House as well
as access to the public hearing.
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