Court has not stopped us from passing NCDC Bill — Reps

The House of Representatives has dismissed media reports that a Court has stopped the consideration of the Infectious Diseases Bill.

Former Senator, Dino Melaye, had dragged the House of Representatives to court over the bill.

In a statement by the Spokesperson of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, he revealed that the court had not halted the passage of the bill.

Kalu went ahead to blame all the newspaper houses who reported that the bill was halted, saying it was false, erroneous and a misrepresentation of facts.

He said: “While the House encourages the public and all media outfits to verify and refer to the certified true copy of the court’s order in all further social commentary or report on the subject matter, it has become necessary to set the record straight.”

In setting the records straight, Kalu said Melaye filed a motion ex parte dated May 13, 2020 to suspend the consideration of the bill by the House, but the court did not consent to that.

Instead, he said the court in its wisdom declined to grant Melaye’s request by asking all the respondents in the matter to appear before it and enter a defence before taking a stand in the matter.

“The court is of the opinion, that it is in the interest of justice to hear the Respondents before making a long term decision in this case,” Kalu said.

—