Members of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) have condemned the travel ban imposed on the country by authorities in Canada and the United Kingdom over the report of confirmed cases of omicron COVID-19 variant.
In a statement on Tuesday by NGF Chairman and Ekiti State Governor, Kayode Fayemi, they described the action of both countries, as discriminatory and called for the intervention of the World Health Organisation (WHO). “The Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) wishes to draw the attention of the World Health Organisation (WHO) to the arbitrary stigmatisation that is caused by the recent banning of countries from visitation based on omicron spread,” said Governor Fayemi. “Only three cases of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus were detected in Nigeria less than a week ago, precisely on December 1st, 2021.
“Canada and the United Kingdom have hastily included Nigeria among the Omicron present countries which must stay away from their shores, an action viewed by the NGF as precipitate, unfair and discriminatory.” According to the governors, omicron remains relatively unknown globally as it is not yet clear whether it is more transmissible from person to person, compared to other variants, including Delta.
They stressed that it was very discouraging to note that several countries have reported cases of omicron with tallies similar to or higher than Nigeria’s, yet travellers there have not been banned from entering the UK and Canada.
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