The Federal Government has announced it will suspend the passports of 100 Nigerians for 6 months and also publish their passport numbers for “flouting obligation to test within 7 days of arrival in Nigeria from overseas travel.”
This was disclosed by a media aide of the Presidency, Tolu Ogunlesi, after the daily Covid-19 Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 briefing on Thursday.
READ: Covid-19: Nigeria considers international travel ban as new strain gains momentum
- “Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 says it’ll, this weekend, publish a list of 100 Nigerian Passport Nos that will be suspended for a minimum of 6 months for flouting obligation to test within 7 days of arrival in Nigeria from overseas travel,” Ogunlesi tweeted.
READ: Nigerian scientists announce development of cheaper, faster COVID-19 test kits
He added that the PTF had contacted 100 people who revealed that they failed to do a test after arrival.
- “PTF says the 100 affected persons (this is only Phase 1, more coming) have been contacted and have confirmed that they failed to do the post-arrival test. Only passport numbers will be published, PTF says, not names. Nigerian Passports will be suspended for 6 months. PTF says penalties will also apply to persons caught presenting fake negative PCR Tests for travel. Apparently it’s a thing – Nigerians cooking up fake negative results and uploading them to the Travel Portal and/or presenting them to airlines,” Ogunlesi said.
READ: Travellers to United Arab Emirates must have return ticket, negative COVID-19 test results- FG
What you should know
The order to suspend the passports of Nigerians who disobey testing procedures was first issued as a warning by the FG in September.
- “If you do not have a test by day 14th regardless whether you have paid or not, we have a system for identifying cases with Nigerian passports and restrictions will be placed on those passports for six months period,” PTF National Coordinator, Dr Sani Aliyu, had warned.
- “For those that are non-Nigerians that have not had the PCR test done between the 7th and 14th days and on their way out of the country, we will revoke their visas,” he added.
READ: Covid-19: FG advises states to shut down bars, night clubs, event centres, others for 5 weeks.
Nairametrics reported that President Muhammadu Buhari extended the mandate of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 till the end of March 2021 due to a surge in the number of cases.
