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General News of Sunday, 17 May 2020

Source: www.mynigeria.com

BREAKING: Court has not stopped us from passing NCDC Bill, Reps say

House of Reps. House of Reps.

The House of Representatives has cleared the air regarding the suit filed by Former Kogi-West Senator, Dino Melaye, over the consideration of the infectious diseases bill sponsored by the Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila.

In a fresh statement by the Official Spokesperson for the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, he revealed that the court had not halted the passage of the bill.

Kalu went ahead to blame all the newspaper houses who reported that the bill was halted, saying it was false, erroneous and a misrepresentation of facts.

"While the house encourages the public and all media outfits to verify and refer to the certified true copy of the court's order in all further social commentary or report on the subject matter, it has become necessary to set the record straight," the statement read in part.

In setting the records straight, Kalu said Melaye filed a motion ex parte dated May 13, 2020, to suspend the consideration of the bill by the House but the court did not consent to that.

Instead, the court in its wisdom declined to grant Melaye's request by asking all the respondents in the matter to appear before it and enter a defence before taking a stand in the matter.

The court is of the opinion, that it is in the interest of justice to hear the Respondents before making a long term decision in this case," Kalu said.

The court proceedings for hearing all the respondents in the matter is dated May 20th, 2020.

"It is unfortunate that the purport of the interim order was wrongly reported. The House, therefore, wishes to put the order of the court in proper perspective and state that the act of legislation is a sacred and constitutional responsibility which should not be subjected to flimsy or superficial reportage in the interest of our democracy," Kalu explained in the statement.



Since its introduction two weeks ago, the infectious diseases bill has drawn a wide range of controversies.

Sponsored by Gbajabiamila, the bill seeks to, among other things, make possession of health card mandatory for international travellers leaving or arriving in Nigeria — just like yellow fever card.

Adapted from a similar law in Singapore, some Nigerians have labelled it as draconian and unfit for a democratic Nigeria.