Trending in the social media is a petition calling on Nigerians to sign a petition against a Bill proposed by the House of Representatives to repeal the Quarantine Act of 2004.
The House last Wednesday had moved to repeal the 16 years old law to accommodate the reality of modern day.
TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) in its tradition if getting to any issue decided to probe deeper as the said proposed repeal of the law is already generating some undercurrent heat that is fast snowballing into a serious issue.
Despite its good intent the Bill has been variously described as anti-people, unfriendly, unholy and the Bill Gates bill.
The House on Tuesday speedily passed the Bill Into second reading and immediately referred it to the committee of the Whole for speedy consideration and eventual passage.
Lawmakers who spoke against the contentious Bill:
Hon Sergius Ogun, PDP, Edo condemned the bill and begged his colleagues not to support it.
Hon . Bamidele Salaam believes that the sponsor of the bill meant well, but there are certain areas that need to be amended .
“How are we sure that immediately after the pandemic we will not go back again about the state of our health Institutions.
“This is an emergency situation. The way we are sitting in the house have already defined the essence of the bill.
“Just like we handled the stimulus bill we should do same here, when the bill was about to take off it wasnt easy. Many people did not believe In the bill”, Rep. Salaam Stated
Hon. Uzoma Nkem-Abonta, PDP, Abia in his contribution said:
“We are all aware of what is awash in the social media.
“Why am saying this is, I have seen the quarantine act, something bigger than disease control. We need a bill for control of prevention disease.
What am trying to say is we should not because of what we are trying to do, make a big error.
“If we are going to do away with public hearing then we must seek for direction and not speed. The bill is a wrong timing.
“Please let us apply restraint on the speed.” Abonta cautioned.
But responding Rep Femi Gbajabiamila, promoter of the Bill said that a drastic situation required drastic measure.
A lawmaker who spoke to TNG under the condition of anonymity said: The most annoying thing about this whole nonesense is that PDP lawmakers who ought to know better seconded and shamelessly supported the bill we all know is anti-Nigerians.
“If we pass it today what it will translate into is that you and I can be detained without legal recourse, quarantined and compulsorily given any vaccine.
‘What we are saying is that the Quarantine Act as it is has enough powers to quarantine anybody why give it absolute powers.
‘They brought a a 47 page bill and wanted it passed in one plenary to achieve what and for what purpose, the Rep queried.
” If this Bill is passed it will be the fastest bill passage in the entire universe.
The Bill was passed into second reading by the House and it may not unergo the mandatory public hearing as stipulated by law.
Senator Dino Melaye in a video clip that has gone viral equally condemned the move by the House without mincing words.
See video below:
Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila must prove that he is not working for Bill Gate by dropping the unholy bill on control of infectious diseases. Compulsory vaccination will not work. https://t.co/R5B8IHjIah
— Senator Dino Melaye. (SDM) (@dino_melaye) April 30, 2020