The Senate has passed a resolution calling for the immediate implementation of mandatory health screening for all passengers arriving in the country via international airports, seaports, and land borders. The directive aims to fortify Nigeria’s border health controls against the potential importation of Ebola and other high-risk epidemic diseases.
The legislative intervention follows a motion of urgent national importance introduced by Senator Francis Faduyile (Ondo South), highlighting heightened risks stemming from an ongoing outbreak of the Bundibugyo Ebola strain in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and its spread across neighboring nations.
Addressing the chamber, Senator Faduyile noted that the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has categorized the risk of Ebola entry into Nigeria as high. Citing the nation’s July 2014 Ebola outbreak triggered by an infected international traveler, Faduyile warned against existing surveillance vulnerabilities, including selective health declarations, understaffed Port Health posts, and outdated legal frameworks.
The nonchalance with which the aviation sector treated this, everybody must now wake up. We have to be proactive; everybody must take part. If it spreads, it will be a major problem. This is a medical emergency, a very deadly one.
Senator Godswill Akpabio.
To prevent an outbreak that could overwhelm a healthcare system currently managing Lassa fever, cholera, and diphtheria, the Senate resolved as follows:
The Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, NCDC, and Port Health Services must enforce mandatory health declaration forms, thermal temperature checks, and symptom screenings for all arriving international travelers, alongside exit screenings during active public health emergencies.
Heightened monitoring and screening will apply to any traveler who has visited or transited through affected regions within the preceding 21 days, regardless of nationality or origin.
The Federal Ministry of Health, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) are directed to fully equip all international entry points with trained personnel, thermal scanners, isolation rooms, and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).
Rapid response isolation and treatment centers across all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) must be fully operationalized.
The Senate urged the Federal Government to release emergency funds from the Service Wide Votes immediately, address outstanding debts owed to health agencies and ensure dedicated funding for the NCDC and Port Health Services in the 2027 national budget.
Furthermore, Lawmakers called for replacing outdated quarantine legislation, specifically referencing the Quarantine Act of 1926, with modern public health laws aligned with the International Health Regulations (2005).
Contributing to the session, Senator Adamu Aliero (Kebbi Central) acknowledged that health authorities have initiated preliminary measures but urged sustained vigilance. Senate Chief Whip Tahir Monguno (Borno North), Senator Ekong Samson (Akwa Ibom South), and Senator Sadiq Umar (Kwara North) reinforced the necessity of a coordinated multi-agency response and immediate legal reforms.
To guarantee swift compliance, the Senate has mandated its joint Committees on Health, Primary Healthcare & Disease Control, Aviation, Interior, and Appropriations to conduct physical inspections of major international entry points and engage key executive agencies. The committees are required to present a comprehensive report back to the Senate within four weeks.
