'We won't let Ebola into Nigeria' - Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority

In the wake of the Ebola outbreak in Liberia, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) says it has no plan to ban Liberian airlines from coming into Nigeria.

This was made known by NCAA’s General Manager (Public Affairs), Mr Fan Ndubuoke, who said Ebola Prevention and Control was a collaborative effort by the NCAA, the Nigerian Immigration Service, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Health and Port Health Services.

According to him, rather than banning the airlines, the various agencies have intensified necessary preventive measures at all the international airports in the country.

Ndubuoke said that adequate facilities were in place at the Port Health Office, where inbound and outbound passengers were adequately screened.

He assured the public and intending passengers that all government agencies were on their guard not to allow any passenger who refused to be screened into the country.Ndubuoke further said people who were suspected of having the disease were taken to a quarantined room, "we can’t afford to let the Sawyer incident happen again” he said.He added that the authority would not hesitate to sanction any airline that violated the mandatory screening at its various check points.Mr Yakubu Dati, General Manager (Corporate Affairs), FAAN, on his part, also said the screening points at all international airports in the country were being maintained, to ensure safety of passengers.Meanwhile, the Federal Ministry of Health recently produced a document on the National Aviation Public Emergency Preparedness Plan.This would serve as a guiding material for suspected cases of communicable diseases within the Nigerian airspace.

Last week, there was a fresh case of Ebola in Liberia after a 17-year was found dead in the Marigbi County.