PBA ReporterThe Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, has disclosed that the UK, Canada, and Saudi Arabia would be put on Nigeria’s travel ban on Tuesday.
Sirika, in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Sunday, said the federal government would place a travel ban on the UK, Canada, Argentina and Saudi Arabia as a retaliation for the travel restriction on Nigeria.
The minister disclosed the federal government would restrict airlines coming from Canada, the UK and Saudi Arabia into Nigeria.
According to him, the decision is to reciprocate restricted flights from Nigeria into those countries over the new COVID-19 variant, Omicron.
Sirika added that the regime of President Muhammadu Buhari would also place the UK, Canada and Saudi Arabia on a red list over the outbreak and spread of the Omicron variant.
The minister noted that if those countries placed Nigeria on a red list, they lacked a moral right to have their airlines fly into the country on commercial operations.
He said: “There is also the case of Saudi Arabia that put Nigeria on the ban list. On Sunday, I participated in a meeting with the COVID-19 task force.
“We have given our input that it is not acceptable by us and we recommended that those Canada, the UK, Saudi Arabia and Argentina also be put on the red list.
“As they did to us, if they do not allow our citizens into their countries; who are they coming, as airlines, to pick from our country?
“They are not supposed to come in. I am very sure in the next three days; Monday or Tuesday, all those countries will be put on the red list of COVID-19,’’ the minister said.
He stressed that airlines of the affected countries remained banned and the countries placed on Nigeria’s red list.
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