EBOLA: SENATE URGES FG TO MAKE SCREENING MANDATORY AT ALL ENTRY POINTS
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BY JENN NOMAMIUKOR
The Senate has asked the Federal Government, through the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, the NCDC, and the Port Health Services, to require all international travelers arriving in Nigeria to undergo health checks at every international airport, seaport, and designated land border.This includes filling out a Health Declaration Form.
The Senate says this will also include checking body temperature and looking for symptoms, with more detailed checks for people who have been in or passed through an area with an outbreak in the last 21 days, no matter where they are from.
They also want to start checking health for people leaving the country during any declared public health emergency.
The Senate has also asked the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning to release emergency money from the service–wide budget so that the relevant agencies can get the funds needed to stop the spread of the disease.
They have further asked the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, and the Nigeria Immigration Service to fully staff and supply all entry points with trained health officers, thermal scanners, protective gear, and isolation rooms.
They also want to make sure that isolation and treatment centers are ready in all 36 states and the FCT.
These decisions came after a motion titled “Urgent Need to Enforce Mandatory Health Screening at All International Airports and Other Entry Points to Prevent the Importation of Ebola and Other Epidemic-Prone Diseases into Nigeria,” which was introduced by Senator Francis Adedayo Faduyile, APC, from Ondo South.
The Senate has also urged the National Assembly to quickly work with the Ministry of Health to replace and update the Quarantine Act of 1926 with a modern law that follows international health regulations from 2005.
It’s important to remember that the Quarantine Act, originally passed in 1926 and still in force today, is Nigeria’s main law for stopping the spread of serious infectious diseases.
With recent health alerts like the 2026 Ebola surveillance, this law gives the president and state governors the power to declare areas infected, control ports and borders, and require isolation or vaccination.
It has also called on Nigerians to be conscious of this development and make adequate arrangements for hand sanitisers at event centres, institutions, private places, and public places.
Meanwhile, the motion to mandate the Committees on Health, Primary Healthcare, Development and Disease Control, Aviation, Interior and Appropriations to liaise with the relevant agencies, visit the principal entry points, and report back within four weeks for further legislative action was unanimously rejected by the Senators.
The Senate has mandated the Committee on Legislative Compliance to ensure implementation of these resolutions.
The motion came on the heels of a report that Nigeria has recorded a case of Ebola in a female patient who travelled from Uganda in East Africa to Abuja, capital of the West African state.
Earlier in his speech, Senator Francis Adedayo Faduyile said, “The Senate notes that the Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which was declared in May 2026 and classified by the World Health Organization as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, has now reached over 9,000 confirmed cases and 4,400 deaths, making it the second biggest Ebola outbreak in history.There is no vaccine or treatment approved for this particular strain.”
“Also notes that the outbreak has spread to Uganda and, on 6 October 2026, to Kenya, through a traveler who went from the DRC by road to Kampala and then flew to Nairobi.
This shows that infected people can move through other countries.”
“Also aware that the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has rated the risk of Ebola entering Nigeria as high, and recalls that in July 2014, a single traveler brought Ebola into Nigeria through Lagos airport.”
“Compliments the Federal Government for introducing the mandatory Health Declaration Form, the Presidential Task Force, and increased screening at entry points.
However, he is worried that the declaration form was limited on 22 September 2026 to travelers from certain countries, and Kenya is not among them.Also, many departure halls and entry points lack trained Port Health staff and proper equipment.Additionally, Port Health Services are still operating under the Quarantine Act of 1926.”
“Also concerned that Nigeria is already dealing with Lassa fever, which has caused 1,138 confirmed cases and 268 deaths in 2026, with Ondo State being the worst affected.
There is also a large number of suspected cholera cases — over 65,000 — and more than 10,000 confirmed cases of diphtheria.He says the health system in Nigeria can’t handle another outbreak.”
“Convinced that protecting our entry points is cheaper than managing one imported case and must be done in line with the International Health Regulations (IHR 2005), without travel bans or discrimination.”
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