Amid Lassa Surge, NCDC Warns Against Second Disease Agency
A federal agency tasked with protecting Nigerians from epidemics has pushed back against lawmakers’ plans to create a second public health institution, warning that the move could fracture the country’s disease response at a moment when it can least afford disruption.
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention told the House of Representatives Committee on Infectious Diseases on Thursday that the proposed National Institute for Public Health and Infectious Diseases (Establishment) Bill, 2025, would duplicate functions already vested in the NCDC and could trigger confusion over command during outbreaks. The bill is formally numbered HB 2629, and the public hearing was held at the National Assembly in Abuja.
NCDC Director-General Dr Jide Idris, who has led the agency since his appointment by President Bola Tinubu in February 2024, presented the centre’s memorandum. “The core responsibilities proposed for the new institute are substantially the same as those currently assigned to the NCDC,” he told lawmakers, warning that the bill raises “serious concerns over duplication of mandates, institutional overlap, governance conflicts and fiscal sustainability.”
The NCDC was established by an Act of Parliament in 2018 as Nigeria’s national public health institute, with statutory responsibility for disease surveillance, outbreak response, laboratory coordination, emergency preparedness and implementation of the International Health Regulations. It also serves as the country’s IHR National Focal Point, a role the new bill seeks to transfer to the proposed institute.
Idris argued that public health emergencies demand a clear chain of command, and that a parallel federal body with similar powers “would generate uncertainty over leadership, accountability and operational command during disease outbreaks.” He cited Nigeria’s handling of Ebola, COVID-19, Lassa fever, cholera, meningitis, diphtheria and Mpox as proof that the system has matured around a single command structure.
The objection lands against a stark backdrop. Lassa fever has claimed 214 lives in Nigeria so far in 2026, with the case fatality rate climbing to 25 percent, up from 18.9 percent during the same period in 2025, according to the NCDC situation report for Week 23. The outbreak has spread across 23 states and 109 local government areas. Beyond the borders, Africa CDC on May 15 confirmed an outbreak of the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola virus in Ituri Province of the Democratic Republic of Congo, prompting the Federal Government to intensify national preparedness measures.
There is also a money question that cuts both ways. Earlier this month, the committee chairman, Mr Amobi Ogah, alleged that the NCDC received no operational funding in 2025 and no capital releases against its approved 2026 budget, with vendors unpaid for over a year. Idris flagged proposals to fund the new institute partly through the Basic Health Care Provision Fund, warning it could strain resources earmarked for essential services.
Lawmakers backing the bill disagree. Speaker Tajudeen Abbas, represented by Bashir Zubair, called the proposed institute “a strategic investment in national health security,” saying Nigeria “can no longer afford a reactive approach to disease outbreaks.” Ogah said the bill was inspired by an October 2025 oversight visit to the National Tuberculosis and Leprosy Training Centre in Saye, Zaria, where members found underused capacity the Presidency has approved for upgrade.
The committee, which also heard the Tuberculosis Anti-Discrimination Bill, will weigh stakeholder submissions before reporting back. Its decision could reshape the structure of Nigeria’s epidemic defence for years.