The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has denied inducing members of House of Representatives with $10million for the passage of the controversial ‘Infectious Diseases Control Bill 2020’.
Following controversies generated by the speed at which the bill passed the first and second reading after its introduction by the Speaker of the House, Femi Gbajabiamila, the allegation of the inducement had been flying around.
Reacting to this, the House had, after a resolution on a motion of Personal Explanation by the Deputy Speaker, Ahmed Idris Wase, set up an investigative panel headed by Henry Nwawuba to investigate the allegation and expose the people behind the alleged report.
READ: ‘Suspend consideration of Infectious Diseases Bill’
However, in a letter dated May 14th, signed by the Director, Nigeria Country Office of the foundation, Paulin Basinga, it was stated that the Foundation had nothing to do with any alleged financial inducement to the lawmakers regarding the said Bill or any other thing.
In a copy of the letter obtained by our reporter on Monday, the Foundation said it; “has recently been made aware of an allegation circulating in certain elements of the Nigerian media that the Foundation was involved in a payment purportedly made to the Nigeria House of Representatives.”
“Any such allegations are entirely false and without merit,” it added.
“To be clear, the Foundation has not offered any financial incentives to any member of Nigeria’s legislative branch for the passage of legislation nor has it offered any grants to organisations in Nigeria in connection with the same.
“The Foundation adheres to strict ethical and legal guidelines across all areas of its operations”, the letter read in parts.
The letter was addressed to the chairman of the Adhoc Committee set up for the investigation of the allegation and copied to the Speaker, House of Representatives.
The House disclosed on Sunday that it will continue with the process of passing the bill.
It said the order given by an Abuja Federal High Court does not stop the process for the passage of the proposed bill.
In a statement by its Spokesperson, Benjamin Okezie Kalu, it expressed dismay over the alleged erroneous reports on the matter by some media outfits.
According to the statement, some of the reports allegedly misinterpreted the decision of the court in suit no FHC/ABJ/CS/463/2020 on 13th May 2020.
Gbajabiamila explains the Bill
The Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila, has defended the proposed Control of Infectious Diseases Bill, saying it was conceived in the best interests of the Nigerian people and no one else.
“Our current framework for the prevention and management of infectious diseases is obsolete and no longer fit for purpose.
“The current law severely constrains the ability of the Federal Government of Nigeria and the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) to take proactive action to prevent the entry into Nigeria of infectious diseases and the management of public health emergencies when they occur.
“Even now, the government remains vulnerable to claims that some directives already being implemented to manage the present crisis do not have the backing of the law and therefore cannot withstand judicial scrutiny.
“I disagree wholeheartedly with the suggestion that this is not the ideal time to seek reforms of the infectious diseases and public health emergency framework in the country.
“The weaknesses of the present system have already manifested in the inability of the government to hold to proper account those whose refusal to adhere with Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) guidelines led to the further spread of the coronavirus in Nigeria.
“We have had people break out from isolation centres, and others, who fully aware of their status chose to travel across state lines on public transport.”
He said as the number of those currently infected by the coronavirus continues to rise alongside the number of those who have died, there is no timeline for when the disease will pass, “and nobody can predict when the next public health crisis will occur, just as nobody predicted the present predicament.”
“It bears restating that we do not have in our country, a healthcare system or for that matter, a national economy that is sufficiently robust to withstand the dire consequences of a sustained infectious disease pandemic.
“We cannot tie our own hands in the fight against this disease.”
“Whether we choose to accept it or not, the world we live in has changed irretrievably.
“There is no ‘normal’ to return to as this present crisis has laid bare the fundamental weaknesses in our systems of law and policy and left our nation at risk of devastating outcomes on all sides.
“Our current task is first to survive and then to set about building a new world.
“Inevitably, this demands that we should be willing to consider new ideas, explore novel possibilities, rejecting those ancient shibboleths we have long adhered to without benefit.”
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