Olufemi Adebanjo, member representing Alimosho Federal Constituency of Lagos State in the House of Representatives on Thursday said there is no more Covid-19 in Nigeria as well as abroad and the House should relax the rule that makes the wearing of face masks compulsory.
Adebanjo made this assertion at plenary when he raised a point of order that the National Assembly, especially the House of Representatives should jettison Covid-19 protocols of compulsorily using facemasks.
The lawmaker said his position was premised on the fact that for the past two months I had not heard of any case of Covid-19 in Nigeria or abroad which shows the pandemic is over.
“Masking has been very painful and the earlier the better we relax the rule that compulsorily ask Honourable members to wear the mask. If you look around you can see how many people are wearing the mask.
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“It affects our respiratory system and our lungs. So there is no more Covid-19 in Nigeria, there is no more Covid-19 abroad, in fact let us relax the rules Mr. Speaker.”
Ahmed Idris Wase, deputy speaker of the House who presided over the sitting acknowledged the point of order but said as lawmakers, the House legislature can not be breaking the law.
Wase said the Covid-19 protocols have been set by the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) created by an Act of the National Assembly, hence the parliament can not violate rules made by the centre.
“I want to advise, as legislators we are supposed to be compliant with rules, the constitution, the acts and it is by the leave of the House that we have the NCDC for regulating our affairs and conduct. So it is not for the Speaker to rule on their duty duly with the act of the National Assembly.
“I want to beg that we should continue to comply with the regulations set for our country and the world. Your point of order is noted,” he stated.
