The Senate on Wednesday asked the Federal Government to release emergency funds from the Service-Wide Vote to contain Ebola threat in Nigeria.
The resolution was sequel to a motion by Senator Francis Ade Faduyile (Ondo South).
Faduyile sought mandatory health screening for passengers arriving through airports, seaports and land borders.
He said reports of Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and its spread to other countries require urgent steps to protect Nigerians.
He urged the government to introduce compulsory health declaration forms, temperature checks and symptom screening for all international arrivals, irrespective of nationality or country of departure.
The senator also called for enhanced screening of travellers who had visited or transited affected areas within the preceding 21 days, as well as exit screening during declared public health emergencies.
He said entry points must be equipped with trained port health officers, thermal scanners, protective equipment and isolation facilities, while isolation and treatment centres across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory must be placed on alert.
Faduyile further called for the modernisation of the Quarantine Act of 1926 and adequate funding for the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) and Port Health Services.
Seconding the motion, Senator Ekong Sampson (APC, Akwa Ibom South) described Ebola as a deadly threat, warning that a single case could trigger widespread transmission if not detected and contained promptly.
Sampson said Nigeria must strengthen its healthcare response and act swiftly to protect citizens from the disease.
Senator Adamu Aliero (APC, Kebbi Central) said the Federal Ministry of Health had initiated measures through the NCDC to address the threat.
However, during consideration of the funding proposal, Aliero argued that the government could not afford to wait for the 2027 budget or a supplementary appropriation before releasing funds for emergency response.
He urged the Ministries of Finance and Budget and Economic Planning to make immediate funding available to the relevant agencies through the Service-Wide Vote.
Aliero said delays in securing funds could undermine efforts to contain the disease, stressing that the NCDC and Port Health Services required immediate resources to strengthen surveillance and screening.
The Senate subsequently adopted the proposal, urging the Federal Government to release emergency funds through the relevant ministries to support measures against the Ebola threat.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio expressed concern over reports of a traveller entering Nigeria without adequate screening at the point of arrival, raising questions about the effectiveness of health checks at the country’s entry points.
Akpabio recalled Nigeria’s experience during the 2014 Ebola outbreak, warning that failure to identify an infected traveller early could expose large numbers of people to the disease.
He called for comprehensive screening of all arriving international passengers, regardless of their countries of departure, noting that infected persons could travel through third countries before reaching Nigeria.
The Senate President also urged the Senate Committee on Judiciary to engage relevant health authorities immediately to review the Quarantine Act and strengthen the country’s legal framework for responding to public health emergencies.
The Senate urged Nigerians and relevant authorities to remain vigilant and support measures to prevent the introduction and spread of Ebola in the country