Ebola Threat: Senate Seeks Emergency Funds, Mandatory Screening at Entry Points

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The upper legislative chamber also urged the federal government to release emergency funds from the Service-Wide Votes to strengthen the country’s preparedness and response to the disease.

The resolutions followed a motion of urgent national importance sponsored by Senator Francis Faduyile, representing Ondo South, on the need to enforce compulsory health screening at all international entry points.

Moving the motion, Faduyile warned that Nigeria faced a high risk of importing Ebola amid an outbreak of the Bundibugyo strain in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and its spread to other African countries.

He said the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) had rated the risk of Ebola importation into Nigeria as high.

The senator also recalled that a traveller brought Ebola into the country through the Lagos airport in July 2014, underscoring the need for stronger surveillance and preventive measures at international entry points.

Faduyile identified several gaps in Nigeria’s screening arrangements, including restrictions on health declaration requirements to travellers from listed countries, inadequate Port Health personnel and equipment at some entry points, and an outdated legal framework governing quarantine services.

He further noted that Nigeria was already grappling with diseases such as Lassa fever, cholera and diphtheria, warning that another epidemic could place additional pressure on the country’s healthcare system.

Under the resolutions, the Senate urged the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, the NCDC and Port Health Services to make health screening compulsory for all international passengers arriving in Nigeria.

The proposed measures include the completion of health declaration forms, temperature checks and symptom screening.

The chamber also called for enhanced screening of passengers who had visited or transited through affected areas within the preceding 21 days, regardless of their nationality or country of departure.

It further recommended exit screening for departing passengers during any declared public health emergency.

The Senate urged the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria and the Nigeria Immigration Service to ensure that all international entry points were adequately staffed and equipped with trained Port Health officers, thermal scanners, personal protective equipment and isolation rooms.

It also called for the readiness of isolation and treatment centres across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory to ensure a coordinated response in the event of an outbreak.

Contributing to the debate, Senator Adamu Aliero, representing Kebbi Central, said many of the measures outlined in the motion were already being implemented by the relevant ministry.

He, however, stressed the need for caution and sustained efforts to prevent the disease from entering the country.

“Virtually all the prayers that have been canvassed, the ministry has started doing them,” he said.

“We have to be very careful, let us do all we can to control this disease.”

Similarly, Senate Chief Whip Tahir Monguno, representing Borno North, called for an amendment of the Quarantine Act to bring it in line with contemporary public health realities.

“There is the need for this parliament to amend the Quarantine Act of 1976 to bring it in tandem to existing realities,” he said.

The motion, however, referred to the Quarantine Act of 1926 as the legislation governing Port Health Services and called for its replacement with modern public health legislation consistent with the International Health Regulations (2005).

The Senate also urged the federal government to provide adequate funding for the NCDC and Port Health Services in the 2027 budget and release outstanding funds owed to the relevant agencies.

In a separate resolution, lawmakers called for emergency funding through the Service-Wide Votes to support agencies involved in preventing and containing the disease.

Senate President Godswill Akpabio criticised what he described as a lack of seriousness in the aviation sector’s handling of the Ebola threat, urging relevant agencies to take more proactive measures.

“The non-challance the aviation sector treated this, everybody must now wake up,” he said.

“We have to be proactive, everybody must take part. If it spreads, it will be a major problem. This is a medical emergency, a very deadly one.”

Akpabio stressed the need for coordinated action by government agencies to prevent an outbreak and protect public health.

Also supporting the motion, Senator Ekong Samson, representing Akwa Ibom South, said the urgency of the situation required greater attention to Nigeria’s healthcare system.

“I want to pull my weight behind this motion because of its urgency, substance and importance,” he said.

“We have to take our healthcare system very serious, so we can protect ourselves.”

Senator Sadiq Umar, representing Kwara North, also called for a coordinated, multi-agency response to prevent the spread of Ebola into Nigeria.

“Nigeria must not allow a single spread of Ebola, I think we should take this seriously,” he said.

“We need a multi-agency approach so we can tackle this.”

To ensure implementation of the resolutions, the Senate mandated its committees on Health, Primary Healthcare, Development and Disease Control, Aviation, Interior, and Appropriations to engage relevant agencies and inspect major international entry points.

The committees are expected to report back to the chamber within four weeks for further legislative action.

The Senate also directed its Committee on Legislative Compliance to monitor the implementation of the resolutions.

In an additional resolution, lawmakers urged Nigerians to remain vigilant and ensure the availability of hand sanitisers at event centres, educational institutions, private premises and other public places as part of efforts to strengthen hygiene and prevent the spread of infectious diseases.

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