Senate Demands Emergency Funds to Combat Ebola Threat

The Senate urged the Federal Government to allocate emergency funds from the Service-Wide Vote to address the Ebola threat and avoid a potential outbreak in Nigeria.

Senator Francis Ade Faduyile (APC, Ondo South) introduced a motion requiring mandatory health screening for all international arrivals at Nigeria’s airports, seaports, and land borders.

Faduyile emphasized the need for urgent preventive actions due to reports of an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and its potential spread to other regions.

The senator proposed compulsory health declaration forms, temperature checks, and symptom screening for all international travelers, regardless of their nationality or origin.

Faduyile also recommended enhanced screening for travelers who had visited or transited through affected areas within the last 21 days and exit screening during public health emergencies.

He called for the modernization of the Quarantine Act of 1926 and increased financial support for the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) and Port Health Services.