The House of Representatives has rejected a request by the
Nigeria Governors Forum to step down further deliberations on the Control
of the Infectious Diseases Bill.
The position was contained in a statement published on Friday by its
spokesman, Benjamin Kalu.
The lawmakers, who accused former Speaker, Aminu
Tambuwal of misleading the Forum due to partisan interests, noted that the
call is coming late as the bill has already been scheduled for public hearing
where Nigerians from all walks of life will have the opportunity to make their
input.
The statement further noted that there is no provision in
the constitution for concurrence of state houses of assembly or state governors
for bills such as the Control of Infectious Diseases unlike constitution
amendment matters.
You will recall that the Nigerian
Governors Forum had asked the National Assembly to step down the Bill to allow for wider consultations with stakeholders.
It also
set up a three-member committee made up of governors Aminu Masari of Katsina,
Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto and Simon Lalong of Plateau state to interface with
the leadership of the National Assembly over the issue. This was part of a communique issued after
the 8th COVID-19 teleconference meeting of the Forum on Wednesday.
The
communique said the governors raised serious concern at the proposed Control of
Infectious Diseases Bill, 2020 introduced by the House of Representatives.
The Nigerian Governors Forum equally deplored the lack of
consultation with State governments who are at the forefront of the epidemic.
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