There’ll be public hearing for infectious diseases bill —Gbajabiamila

The Speaker of the House of Representatives,Femi Gbajabiamila, said on Tuesday the Control of Infectious Diseases Bill would undergo public hearing.
The Speaker stated this while addressing members of the House and members of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 in Abuja.
He said that stakeholders’ contributions would be sought to make improvements to the bill before being reviewed and debated by the Committee of the Whole.
Gbajabiamila said: “It is from the accumulation of these myriad views, suggestions and good faith critiques from within and outside the House that we will arrive at final legislation that meets the present and future needs of our country, and which we all can support in good conscience.”
He, however, said that the social distancing guidelines under which the House operates presently meant that the usual format of public hearings was not tenable.
He added: “If a socially distant public hearing becomes workable, we will certainly explore that option.
“Nonetheless, the House will provide alternative platforms for all Nigerians who desire to send in written documents that articulate their concerns, make recommendations on amendments and perhaps present other formulations for a new framework for managing infectious diseases in Nigeria.
“All the contributions we receive will be considered and aggregated to improve the proposed legislation.”

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