ABUJA, Nigeria — Both chambers of the National Assembly have demanded the immediate release of emergency funds from the Federal Government’s Service-Wide Vote to fortify disease surveillance and enforce compulsory biological health screenings across all international airports, seaports, and land borders.
The legislative directive was issued during plenary on Wednesday, October 21, 2026, following motions of urgent public importance raised in the Senate by Senator Francis Faduyile (Ondo South) and in the House of Representatives by lawmakers responding to the confirmed Bundibugyo Ebola case involving a foreign diplomat in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Lawmakers mandated the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning to immediately release capital allocations to the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC).
The intervention aims to procure thermal scanners, establish rapid-response isolation holding units, deploy trained Port Health Services (PHS) officers, and supply personal protective equipment (PPE) across all transit hubs.
Expressing deep concern over systemic screening lapses at points of entry, Senate President Godswill Akpabio questioned how an infected traveler transited into the nation without early detection, warning that lax border surveillance exposes millions to catastrophic public health risks reminiscent of the 2014 outbreak.
In addition to funding mandates, Parliament urged the Federal Ministry of Health to mandate 21-day health tracking for all arriving passengers with travel or transit history in affected East and Central African regions, while directing the Senate Committee on Judiciary to review and modernize the outdated Quarantine Act of 1926 to align with international health regulations.
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