By Mercy Aikoye
The House of Representatives has called for stronger preventive and emergency medical measures against Ebola, warning that Nigeria must not allow gaps in preparedness to trigger a recurrence of the devastating 2014 outbreak.
The Chairman of the Joint House Committees on Infectious Diseases, Healthcare Services, Aviation and Interior, Amobi Godwin Ogah, made the call on Tuesday at a public hearing on the Ebola outbreak in Abuja.
Ogah said the hearing was convened in response to public concerns following reports of Ebola cases in the country, stressing the need for sustained vigilance and coordinated action by relevant agencies.
Recalling the 2014 outbreak, he said the disease had serious physical, psychological and economic consequences, adding that Nigeria must learn from the experience by strengthening its capacity to prevent and contain future outbreaks.
He disclosed that the House had passed a resolution urging the executive to intensify preventive and emergency medical measures against Ebola.
The lawmaker commended President Bola Tinubu for establishing a Presidential Task Force on the outbreak and approving N10 billion to support containment efforts.
He also praised the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention for coordinating the national response, noting that effective collaboration among relevant institutions was essential to protecting public health.
Ogah said the hearing would provide an opportunity for government agencies to explain their preparedness, identify existing gaps and outline measures to protect Nigerians, particularly at airports and other points of entry.
“This public hearing is intended to bring critical stakeholders to the forefront of containment measures against the Ebola virus in Nigeria, and to inform Nigerians what they have done and what they intend to do to keep Nigerians safe from the Ebola virus outbreak,” he said.
Also speaking, the Controller-General of Corrections, Sylvester Nwakuche, identified congestion, shared facilities and frequent interactions among inmates and personnel as factors that could complicate efforts to contain infectious diseases in custodial centres. He said the Nigerian Correctional Service was strengthening disease surveillance, health screening, infection prevention and emergency response measures to protect inmates and personnel.
Nwakuche called for increased federal funding and improved medical infrastructure, urging the government to include correctional facilities in publicly funded health emergency response programmes. He said the Service needed protective equipment, disinfectants, screening devices, ambulances and improved medical facilities, alongside regular training of correctional officers and healthcare workers.
Meanwhile, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, represented by the member representing Orhionmwon/Uhunmwode Federal Constituency, Billy Adesuwa Osawaru, called for sustained vigilance against Ebola despite the evacuation of the confirmed imported case and the absence of established onward transmission.
Abbas said public health security was inseparable from national security, adding that the legislature would examine existing preparedness measures and ensure relevant institutions had the resources and legal backing to protect Nigerians.
He said the hearing was not intended to create panic, noting that there were no active Ebola cases in the country at the time.
“Our main purpose is to strengthen public confidence through preparedness, transparency and institutional accountability, and to ensure that our response capacity remains strong enough to confront any future threat,” he said.
