The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, NCDC, has opposed a bill seeking to establish a new National Institute for Public Health and Infectious Diseases, warning that creating another federal public health agency with overlapping responsibilities could weaken Nigeria’s disease surveillance and emergency response system.The Director-General of the NCDC, Dr Jide Idris, made the agency’s position known on Thursday during a public hearing organised by the House of Representatives Committee on Infectious Diseases on the proposed National Institute for Public Health and Infectious Diseases (Establishment) Bill, 2025.
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Idris acknowledged the need to strengthen Nigeria’s health security architecture, but argued that the proposed institute would duplicate responsibilities already assigned to the NCDC under its enabling Act.
According to him, the development could also create confusion over leadership and accountability during public health emergencies.
“The core responsibilities proposed for the new institute are substantially the same as those currently assigned to the NCDC,” Idris told lawmakers.
He said 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 detection and response, laboratory coordination, emergency preparedness, public health research, workforce development and implementation of the International Health Regulations.
Idris said placing similar functions under a new agency could fragment Nigeria’s public health system rather than strengthen it.
He warned that during outbreaks and other health emergencies, overlapping mandates could delay decision-making, weaken coordination and create uncertainty over which institution should lead national response efforts.
The NCDC DG urged lawmakers to consider strengthening existing institutions instead of creating new agencies with similar powers and responsibilities.
According to him, Nigeria’s priority should be to improve funding, infrastructure, staffing, laboratory capacity and operational readiness of current public health institutions, particularly the NCDC, rather than establishing another federal institute that may compete for the same resources.
He also raised concerns about the financial implication of creating a new public health institute at a time when the country is already facing fiscal constraints.
Idris said setting up a new agency would require fresh budgetary allocations for personnel, offices, equipment, administration and operational activities, despite the existence of an agency already legally mandated to perform the same functions.
He maintained that the NCDC remains committed to working with the National Assembly, the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, states, development partners and other stakeholders to strengthen Nigeria’s capacity to prevent, detect and respond to infectious disease threats.
The bill seeks to establish a National Institute for Public Health and Infectious Diseases as a federal institution for public health research, disease surveillance, outbreak preparedness, training and response.
However, the NCDC insisted that those responsibilities already fall within its statutory mandate and should not be duplicated.
The agency urged lawmakers to review the proposed legislation carefully to avoid creating institutional conflict within Nigeria’s health security framework.
The public hearing formed part of the legislative process for the bill, as lawmakers considered submissions from stakeholders on whether the proposed institute should be established or whether existing institutions should be strengthened to deliver the same objectives.
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