The House of Representatives has called on the Federal Ministry of Education to take urgent action to strengthen health and safety protocols in all federal unity colleges, following the recent diphtheria outbreak at King’s College, Lagos.
Adopting a motion of urgent public importance sponsored by Akintunde Rotimi (APC, Ekiti), the House directed its Committees on Health and Basic Education to collaborate with relevant agencies, including the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), to assess and improve infection prevention and emergency response measures in federal schools.
The House further urged the Federal Ministries of Health and Education, along with the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) and the NCDC, to intensify vaccination campaigns and awareness efforts in schools to prevent future outbreaks. It also recommended a comprehensive review of health infrastructure in unity colleges, calling for a structured disease surveillance system to ensure early detection and rapid response to infectious diseases.
Commending the Lagos State Government and health authorities for their swift response, the House encouraged continued collaboration between federal and state agencies to protect students’ well-being. Additionally, it called on the Federal Government to provide compensation to the family of the deceased student in recognition of the tragic loss and the duty of care owed to students in federal institutions.
Presenting the motion, Rotimi expressed concern over the diphtheria outbreak at King’s College’s Victoria Island Annexe, which resulted in the death of a 12-year-old student and the hospitalization of several others. Citing NCDC data, he noted that between 2022 and early 2025, Nigeria recorded 24,804 confirmed cases of diphtheria across 25 states, with 1,269 fatalities reported in 18 states.
Rotimi emphasized that the incident highlights serious lapses in infection prevention measures in federal schools and underscored the Federal Ministry of Education’s responsibility to ensure student safety. He acknowledged the prompt intervention by Lagos authorities in isolating affected students, launching a mass vaccination campaign, and activating an Emergency Operations Committee (EOC) to contain the outbreak.
The lawmaker stressed the need for a nationwide, proactive strategy to safeguard students’ health, urging coordinated efforts between the NCDC, NPHCDA, and state governments to prevent similar crises in the future.
