The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, has given the assurance that transparency and accountability will be upheld in the conduct of the public hearing stage of the Control of Infectious Disease Bill, 2020.
Gbagabiamila stated this while receiving some civil society organizations (CSOs) at his office in abuja saying the public hearing, which is expected to take place in the next few weeks, would be for two days and would be physical and open to submission of memorandum and position papers from members of the public.
According to the speaker, the bill that will be passed by the House will be the aggregate of the submissions of Nigerians for transparency and accountability.
The speaker noted that the House would step up its oversight responsibility on issues and palliative programmes around COVID-19, and the 9th Assembly’s Legislative Agenda would be rejigged to reflect the realities of the pandemic.
While stressing that the House would continue to observe its weekly sitting and add more days where necessary, he insisted that the lawmakers would continue to pass critical legislation during the COVID-19 period.
Earlier, the leader of the delegation, Clement Nwankwo of Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC) commended the lawmakers for rising to the occasion.
The House, according to him, has shown leadership in consultation regarding the pandemic and taken some positive steps to address the issues of concern.
Also at the meeting were the Majority Leader of the House, Hassan Ado-Doguwa; the Chief Whip, Muhammad Monguno; the Deputy Minority Whip, Gideon Gwani; and the House Committee Chairman on Defence, Babajimi Benson.
Others included the Executive Director of Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), Auwal Rafsanjani, the Chief Executive Officer of Women Trust Fund, Mufuliat Fijabi; and the Executive Director of Youth Initiative for Advocacy Growth and Advancement (YIAGA), Samson Itodo.
