At plenary session of Tuesday, 4th February 2020 the House of Representatives rejected a motion calling for the evacuation and subsequent quarantine of Nigerians stranded in Wuhan, China following the outbreak of a Corona virus that has killed more than 400 persons and infected 20,000 persons worldwide.
This came as Hon. Benjamin Kalu (APC:Abia), Chairman, House Committee on Media and Public Affairs failed to convince lawmakers of the need to evacuate Nigerians stranded in China over the health crisis, back to the country. The motion was also vehemently opposed at presentation with some lawmakers arguing that China was better placed to deal with the epidemic than Nigeria.
Although the Speaker Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila (APC:Lagos) tried to intervene so that Hon. Kalu could further elaborate on his motion, Members refused when the question was raised on whether the motion should be debated. This lead to the motion being negatived.
