Seek Sound Legal Advice On Disease Bill, Falana Tells NASS

A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mr Femi Falana, has condemned the National Health Emergency Bill before lawmakers in the Senate.

He faulted the bill on Monday during a special programme ‘A Citizen’s Town Hall’ on Channels Television.

The human rights lawyer described the bill as unnecessary and asked members of the National Assembly to seek the opinion of legal experts before coming up with bills.

He said, “My views on the bill are that the bill is unnecessary, it is unwarranted; it is superfluous and unconstitutional.

“Therefore, it should not be passed because it is going to fail. If it is passed, it is going to be challenged.”

“I will like to suggest that the members of the National Assembly should seek sound legal advice so that we do not waste precious resources and energies on a law that is bound to fail; that is likely to be declared null and void,” Falana added.

The sponsor of the bill and lawmaker representing Enugu North Senatorial District, Senator Chukwuka Utazi, however, disagreed with the lawyer.

Senator Utazi, who was also a guest on the show, outlined the benefits of the bill to the nation’s health sector.

He believes there is no better time to come up with such a bill than now when Nigeria is battling the spread of COVID-19.

The lawmaker insisted that there was no going back on the passage of the bill, although the Senate would gladly welcome various contributions to improve its significance.

According to him, lawmakers in the House of Representatives and Senate chambers of the National Assembly will do everything possible to support the executive to ensure Nigeria overcomes its challenges.

“We are already set on a voyage and all we want is informed input into this bill. There is no better time for any law to come into force.

“It is very necessary and timely for this bill to come into place because there are gaps that are existing that needs to be filled. We need to have a legal framework to guide our activities,” Senator Utazi said.

He added, “We cannot continue depending on executive orders one after the other. It is totally wrong. This is a democracy; we are not in a military regime where the executive will make laws for the people.”