Skip to main content

Nigerians Asked To Pay N356,000 Fine Over Failure To Do COVID-19 Repeat Test On Arrival

The Nigerian government has allegedly asked Nigerians to pay a fine of N356,000 if they are unable to pay an estimated N50,000 on arrival into the country for a repeat COVID-19 test.

SaharaReporters learned that this is the directive given to airline operators in the UAE.

The airlines told the affected passengers that they were acting on instructions from Nigerian government officials.


One of the airlines, Rwandair, said the Nigerian government directed the airline to ensure that intending passengers to Nigeria have $160 or N53,000 cash to cover the cost of COVID-19 repeat test to be conducted on their arrival to Nigeria.

The airline representative told SaharaReporters that they would be slammed a  huge fine if they return to Nigeria without having the money at hand.

“If you do not carry $160 or N53,000 in your pocket when you arrive at Lagos, the passenger will be asked to pay 3,400 dirhams (N356,889).”

“It is not a directive from the airline. I think you should communicate with your embassy in Dubai,” the Rwandair staff told SaharaReporters.

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control directed SaharaReporters to its FAQ web page on the COVID-19 repeat test directive.

“My airline insists on a QR code before boarding, but I haven’t received one since making payment. What should I do?” One of the questions reads.

See Also

PUBLIC HEALTH

Returning Nigerian Ladies From Saudi Beg Government To Wave COVID-19 Repeat Test Fee

0 Comments

3 Days Ago


The answer is: “As a temporary measure, any passenger that is unable to complete the payment online will be allowed to board the flight if they have a valid COVID-19 negative PCR result. The passenger will be required to pay for the repeat COVID-19 PCR test on arrival in Nigeria. Please note that passengers without a QR code may face longer delays on arrival in Nigeria before exiting the airport.”

The information on the NCDC website aligns with the memo released on September 9 directing international passengers to pay on arrival if they cannot complete the payment online.

It is unclear why the airlines were still refusing to board passengers who did not have the required amount of cash or the QR Code.

The Director-General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Musa Nuhu, said he could not comment on what he described as a rumour, adding that no evidence or complaint has been brought to him on the issue.

Health physician, Doyin Odubanjo, who is also the Executive Secretary of the Nigeria Academy of Sciences, said forcing travellers to pay for a repeat COVID-19 test was unnecessary.    

“If you are going to win a battle like this, you must win public confidence first. And I think that is what we missed. We were putting things like testing and ignoring winning public confidence,” he said.

He said rather than ask people to pay for repeat tests, the government should hand out leaflets with instructions urging arriving passengers to self-isolate, then call them for testing when necessary.

“Now, we have a situation where the system is being subverted,” Odubanjo said.  “All we are doing right now is being undermined. People are doing tests now without getting test results.

“You have a system that encourages a false sense of security. Now testing is failing because people are no longer going to be tested. I am fairly certain that we are recording low results at present because people are no longer going to get tested.”

PUBLIC HEALTH

News

Reports

AddThis

: 

Original Author

: 

SaharaReporters, New York

Disable advertisements

: 

from 24HRSNEWS
via 24HRSNEWS



from EDUPEDIA247https://ift.tt/2E5xQ4I
via EDUPEDIA

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Nigerian Academy Of Science Inducts First Female President

The Nigerian Academy of Science has inducted a professor of Parasitology/Epidemiology, Ekanem Ikpi Braide, as its 19th President on Thursday. In a statement issued by Oladoyin Odubanjo, the Executive Secretary of the Academy, Braide is the Academy’s first female President in 44 years of existence. It read, “Braide was a member of the national committee that achieved the laudable feat of guinea worm eradication in Nigeria. “She has a rich professional experience as a researcher and an administrator. In July 2010, Professor Braide was honoured by the President of Nigeria with the award of Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic (OFR) for her contribution to disease control in Nigeria. “She was nominated by the Honourable Minister of Health to serve in the Ministerial Expert Advisory Committee on COVID-19 Health Sector Response (MEACoC-HSR). “Professor Braide served as Vice-Chancellor, Cross River University of Technology (CRUTECH) Calabar, Nigeria (2004 to 2009) and as P...
Post a Comment
Read more

NLNG Signs Letter Of Intent On Delayed Gas Expansion Project

The Nigerian Natural Liquefied Gas LTD has signed a letter of intent for the engineering, procurement and construction of its long held up Train Seven project. In a statement released by the company on Wednesday, it said that the $10bn project will be executed by a consortium of Italian firm Saipem, Japan’s Chiyoda and South Korea’s Daewoo. The statement reads, “The project will form part of the investment of over $10bn including the upstream scope of the LNG value chain, thereby boosting the much needed Foreign Direct Investment profile of Nigeria.” Managing Director of NLNG, Tony Atta, said in 2018 that the Final Investment Decision would be made in the fourth quarter of that year. This did not however, materialize. According to the release, the project will have a four to five-year execution time after the signing of the FID. The project is expected to add an extra 8 million tons per annum of gas to the 22 mtpa currently exported by the company. Oil News AddThis :...
Post a Comment
Read more

Former Maritime Agency Boss, Buba Galadima, Accuses AMCON Of Witch-hunt After Property Takeover

  A former Director-General of the Nigeria Maritime Agency, Buba Galadima, has accused the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria of witch-hunt after the agency took possession of his business and assets on Tuesday in Abuja. Galadima, an ardent critic of President Muhammadu Buhari, claimed that he did not borrow money or have unpaid debt with Unity Bank, which lodged a complaint against him and occasioned AMCON’s move on Tuesday. The properties taken over include House No. 15, Addis Ababa Crescent, Wuse Zone 4, Federal Capital Territory, Abuja and House No. 4, Bangui Street, Wuse 2, also in Abuja.  Reacting to the situation, Galadima said, “This is an attempt to disgrace and break me down. This is injustice and an attempt to humiliate me. "But I am unbreakable and they can never silence me. They sacked me and over 50 people that sleep in the apartment. "We don’t know where to go. We will remain on the streets. We will remain on the streets until God provi...
Post a Comment
Read more