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Tag: NCDC Bill

  • FG announces distribution plan for COVID-19 vaccine

    FG announces distribution plan for COVID-19 vaccine

    The federal government has announced a distribution plan for Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine in the country.

    The announcement was made through the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA).

    According to NPHCDA, the rate of infection in each State of the federation would be the criterion used in the distribution.

    The agency revealed the plan alongside the publication of the latest infection rates for the disease by the Nigeria Centre For Disease Control (NCDC) on its verified website on Saturday.

    NCDC said it recorded 1, 585 new infections of the deadly Coronavirus with additional eight coronavirus-related deaths in the last 24 hours.

    The centre stated that the country’s COVID-19 infections increased from 97,478 on Jan.8 to 99,063 on Saturday, indicating 1,585 new infections, and with eight additional COVID-19 related deaths in the last 24 hours.

    Based on the rate of infection in the States, the distribution list of the COVID-19 vaccine indicated that Kano State will receive 3,557; Lagos, 3,131; Katsina, 2,361; Kaduna, 2,074; Bauchi, 1,900; Oyo, 1,848; Rivers, 1,766; Jigawa, 1,712; Niger, 1,558; Ogun, 1,473; Sokoto, 1,468; Benue, 1,423; Borno, 1,416; Anambra, 1,379; Zamfara, 1,336; and Delta, 1,306.

    Others were: Kebbi, 1,268; Imo, 1,267; Ondo, 1,228; Akwa Ibom, 1,161.Adamawa, 1,129; Edo, 1,104; Plateau, 1,089; Enugu, 1,088; Osun, 1,032; Kogi, 1,030; Cross River, 1,023; Abia, 955; Gombe, 908; Yobe, 842; Ekiti, 830; Taraba, 830; Kwara, 815; Ebonyi, 747; Bayelsa, 589; FCT, 695; Nasarawa, 661.

    The NPHCDA said that though all of the states were getting less than 4,000 vaccines from the first batch, the federal government had advised that frontline workers, like those in the health and security sectors, be given priority, as well as the elderly.

    The agency said that the vaccine, expected to be administered in January and February, would be done in compliance with WHO standards.

    The government was targeting administering the vaccine on 40 per cent of Nigerians during the first batch this year, the agency said, pointing out that 30 per cent were expected to be done in 2022.

    The agency also said the federal government was also sourcing for vaccines from other countries like Russia.

    Meanwhile, NCDC’s data had indicated that a total of 865 patients had recovered and were discharged from various isolation centres in the country.

    “Our discharges today include 419 community recoveries in Lagos State, 123 community recoveries in Gombe State and 117 community recoveries in Plateau State managed in line with guidelines,” It said.

    NCDC said that the new infections it recorded on Saturday were reported from 25 states and the Federal Capital Territory. saying that Lagos State still recorded the highest figure of the day with 573 infections.

    Others were: FCT-182, Plateau-162, Gombe-81, Oyo-75, Rivers-68, Sokoto-58, Ondo-55, Ogun-42, Nasarawa-40, Akwa Ibom-36, Edo-31, Kaduna-27, Anambra-22, Delta-19, Kano-17, Osun-17, Ebonyi-16, Katsina-14, Niger-14, Bayelsa-nine, Ekiti-eight, Borno-seven Jigawa-five, Abia-four and Bauchi-three.

    The NCDC also revealed that it had conducted no fewer than 1,018,061 tests since the first confirmed case relating to the COVID-19 pandemic was announced in the country, while a multi-sectoral national Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) activated at Level 3, had continued to coordinate national response activities across the country.

  • JUST IN: Court declines Melaye’s request to stop Reps from acting on NCDC Bill

    A Federal High Court in Abuja has declined a request by ex-Senator, Dino Melaye for a restraining order against the House of Representatives in relation to its planned consideration of the controversial Control of Infectious Diseases Bill 2020, otherwise known as the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) Bill.

    In a ruling on Wednesday, Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu said she could not issue such an order as sought by Melaye’s lawyer, Nkem Okoro because the plaintiff was yet to effect service on the Speaker of the House of Representatives (the third respondent) as earlier directed by the court.

    Okoro had, at the commencement of proceedings on Wednesday, noted that none of the respondents complied with the court’s earlier order for them to show cause why similar restraining order sought ex-parte by the plaintiff should not be granted.

    He argued that, in view of the obvious failure of the respondents to show cause, the court should order parties to maintain status quo, protect the res (subject matter) and prevent a situation where a “fait accompli” would be foisted on the court.

    Lawyers, who represented some of the respondents, faulted Okoro’s argument and urged the court to hold otherwise.

    In her ruling, Justice Ojukwu rejected Okoro’s request, on the grounds that the court’s order made on May 13, 2020 for the respondents to show cause why they should not be restrained from further considering the Bill (as prayed by Melaye in his ex-parte motion), was predicated on the service of court processes (documents) on all the respondents.

    She added: “Since the condition precedent has not been met, I would rather hold that the matter proceeds to hearing.”

    Justice Ojukwu proceeded to order that the processes meant for the Speaker should be served on him through the lawyer representing him in court – Kayode Ajulo.

    She directed parties to file all the necessary processes and adjourned till June 1 for hearing.

    Melaye is, by the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/463/2020, filed on May 5, 2020 is claiming that the provisions of the Bill violate his fundamental rights, among which are rights to the dignity of person, personal liberty, right to private and family life, right to freedom of movement and right to own immovable property in Nigeria.

    At the last hearing in the case on May13, Justice Ojukwu declined a similar prayer for a restraining order against the respondents, as contained in ex parte motion argued by Melaye’s lawyer.

    Instead, the judge ordered Melaye to serve the processes on the respondents, for them to attend court and show cause why the orders sought ex-parte by the plaintiff should not be granted, and adjourned till May 20.

    It was in response to the service of the court processes on them that some of the respondents attended court on Wednesday.

    Listed as respondents to the suit are the Clerk of the National Assembly, the Clerk of the House of Representatives, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and the Inspector-General of Police (IGP).

    Clerks of both the National Assembly and the House of Representatives and the AGF were absent on Wednesday. They were also not represented by lawyers.

    It was only the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the IGP that were represented by Ajulo and Kehinde Oluwole.

  • COVID-19: Conduct public hearing on NCDC Bill before passage, PDP tells Gbajabiamila

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has advised the the Speaker of the House of Representatives Femi Gbajabiamila to subject the Infectious Disease Control Bill to public hearing.

    The party gave the advice in a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary Kola Ologbondiyan on Saturday in Abuja.

    Ologbondiyan said that the bill should not be passed without recourse to the laid down procedure of public hearing to allow Nigerians participate in the process of making the law.

    He said that shutting out Nigerians from public debate on such a crucial legislation would raise suspicions of sinister objectives as the nation combats the spread of COVID-19 pandemic.

    “This is especially as the bill seeks to prescribe clauses on critical issues, particularly that of vaccination, which has become globally controversial in the face of raging conspiracy theories on the COVID-19 pandemic.

    “The PDP is alarmed that such approach is already worsening public mistrust in the polity,” he said.

    Ologbondiyan added that such move would heighten apprehension over the intentions of the presiding officers of the House of Representatives and the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led administration at this critical time.

    “The PDP insists that Nigerians must be carried along in the decision making process of such a critical legislation, which seeks to make provisions that will directly affect their health as well as overall individual and collective safety and well-being.

    “The party stresses that anything short of that would be counter productive and capable of breeding an avoidable public resistance, especially given the deepening fear and anxiety in the polity over the COVID-19 pandemic,” he said.

    Ologbondiyan urged lawmakers in the National Assembly to stand firm against the passage of bill until there was a public hearing to get the inputs of Nigerians into the proposed law.