COVID-19 second wave: FG says it is considering imposing fresh travel ban

 The federal government has reacted to the emergence of the new strain of COVID-19 in some countries

 The minister of information, Lai Mohammed, disclosed the measure being considered to prevent the disease from entering Nigeria

 Mohammed explained why the support of neighbouring countries is needed to contain the spread of the pandemic

The federal government has disclosed that it is considering imposing a travel ban to and from certain countries, particularly the UK, over the new strain of the COVID-19 virus.

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The minister of information and culture, Lai Mohammed told Radio Nigeria on Tuesday, December 22, that it is waiting to get the concurrence of neighbouring countries before imposing the ban.

He explained that any unilateral ban by Nigeria would not be effective because travellers will exploit land borders in entering the country.

Mohammed also pointed out that a hasty decision to ban flight from UK which has recorded the mutated form of COVID-19 could pose economic challenges for the country.

He said:

“We did not want to take a hasty decision to ban flight from the UK into Nigeria only to find out our people are going through Cotonou, Lome or Accra to come into the country.

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“What the airlines will do is to transfer Nigerian passengers to these routes and they will enter the country through the land borders. This will lead into hardship to Nigerians because if you transfer your economy to other countries, you lose a lot of money.”

The minister said the federal government is currently making consultations so that it can take a proper decision.

He noted that once the neighbouring countries strike a deal with Nigerian on the issue, the ban can then be imposed.