How minister prevented governors from flying during coronavirus lockdown

Jude Egbas 09:20 - 22 April 2020

Hadi Sirika says Nigeria Air project remains a priority to Buhari's government.

Some governors are still itching to fly around Nigeria during a coronavirus enforced lockdown.

Aviation Minister, Hadi Sirika, has shared the tale of how he prevented five governors from taking to the skies at a time when the nation’s airspace has been shut down due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.

President Buhari has banned interstate travel and shut down the nation’s airports in a bid to curb the spread of COVID-19.

However, there have been stories making the rounds of some VIPs flouting the shutdown directive.

Addressing the subject during the daily press briefing by members of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, Sirika said some governors who were denied flight approval are members of the governing APC.

“Every single flight that we approved and will be approved will be an essential flight and 98 percent of the essential flight will be connected to COVID-19.

“A few of them, maybe 1 percent may be either repatriation, request from the diplomatic community which must go through foreign affairs, or repatriation due to illness of another kind which will be medical-kind and those evacuations will also need a stamp of a teaching hospital.

“However, I want to share with you a discussion I had on twitter with someone when I said we will not be able to open our airport and airspace as a result of the extension of the lockdown for normal operations and someone said; “Kindly stop all the VIPs shuttle going on.

Minister of Aviation, Sen. Hadi Sirika, State Minister of Health, Adeleke Mamora and a government official receive the medical equipment donated by the United Nations [Twitter/@hadisirika]

“It makes no sense to lock citizens up and allow governors to stroll in and out of Abuja. In the first instance, they carried this virus into Nigeria and now running around is not okay.” I said to the person that I agree with him but whatever is approved or whoever is approved to fly privately, governor or no governor is on an essential flight and it is addition and 98 percent is related to COVID-19.

“There is no exception to governors. I have denied several of such flights. Including two governors from South-south, two from South-east and by the way, three of them are members of the APC and I think one is from North-central.

“For a flight to be approved, it shows that it is diligently done. It must be essential, COVID-19 related or other essential flights like cargo that will bring in medicines or equipment or other things related to COVID-19 or our whole well being like food.

“Please trust us and bear with us for this period but it will end soon by God’s grace.”

Gov Sanwo-Olu welcomes the presidential taskforce on Covid-19 to the state. With him are health commissioner Akin Abayomi, SGF Boss Mustapha and Information Minister Lai Mohammed (Twitter: @Jidesanwoolu)

Abuja residents have reported spotting aircraft overhead in the last couple of days. Sirika says: “I think it is occasioned by information dished out by the Nigerian Air Force that they will be carrying out flying activity this week to mark their week and I think what you see is the flight rehearsal.”

Nigeria has now reported 782 cases of COVID-19 with a chunk of them in Lagos, Abuja and Kano.