The Federal Government has expressed disappointment over the United Kingdom government’s placement of Nigeria on its red list following the detection of the COVID-19 Omicron variant in the country.

This is as the government demanded immediate review and reversal of the decision that put Nigeria on the red list, adding that Nigeria has handled the COVID-19 pandemic with utmost responsibility using science as her basis.

Speaking on the decision of the British government against Nigeria on Monday, Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said the ban is unjust, unfair, punitive, indefensible, discriminatory and not driven by science.

The minister said the Presidential Steering Committee (PSC) has reviewed its International Travel Protocol and is aimed at further reducing the risk of importation and exportation of COVID-19, especially the variants of concern.

He said: “The decision by the British Government to put Nigeria on the red list, just because of less than two dozen cases of Omicron which, by the way, did not originate in Nigeria, is unjust, unfair, punitive, indefensible and discriminatory. The decision is also not driven by science.

“How do you slam this kind of discriminatory action on a country of 200 million people, just because of less than two dozen cases? Whereas British citizens and residents are allowed to come in from Nigeria, non-residents from the same country are banned.

“The two groups are coming from the same country, but being subjected to different conditions. Why won’t Britain allow people in both categories to come in, and be subjected to the same conditions of testing and quarantine? This is why this decision to ban travellers from Nigeria, who are neither citizens nor residents, is grossly discriminatory and punitive.”

The minister stated that the travel ban slammed on some African countries is a knee-jerk reaction that can only be detrimental to our quest to most conclusively tackle this pandemic.

Mohammed also decried the inequality in the availability of vaccines.

“Instead of these reflex responses that are driven by fear, rather than science, why can’t the world take a serious look at the issue of access to vaccines, and ensure that it is based on the principles grounded in the right of every human to enjoy the highest attainable standard of health without discrimination on the basis of race, religion, political belief, economic or any other social condition.

“Many developed countries have used the advantage of their enormous resources or relationship to sign agreements with manufacturers to supply their countries with vaccines ahead of making them available for use by other countries.

“Even before the clinical trials were completed, millions of doses of the most promising vaccines have been bought by Britain, US, Japan and the EU. Some of these countries bought doses five times the size of their population, while others, mostly in Africa, have little or no access to vaccines. This is the real issue to address, instead of choosing the easy path of travel bans, which the UN Secretary General called Travel Apartheid. Let the world know that no one is safe until everyone is safe,” the minister added.

Mohammed said in the wake of the discovery of Omicron, the PSC has reviewed its International Travel +Protocol.

The revised protocol, which came into effect on 5th December, is aimed at further reducing the risk of importation and exportation of COVID-19, especially the variants of concern.

Under the revised protocol, passengers arriving in Nigeria are expected to provide evidence of and comply with the following rules: COVID-19 PCR test to be done within 48 hours before departure; Post-arrival Day 2 COVID-19 PCR test; Self-isolation for 7 days (for unvaccinated and partially-vaccinated individuals); Day 7 post-arrival exit PCR test (for unvaccinated and partially vaccinated individuals).

On the other hand, out-bound passengers are required to provide: Valid evidence of full vaccination against COVID-19; Negative PCR test result within 48hrs from the time boarding.

According to him, “These are science-driven actions, rather than those based on emotions and other extraneous reasons. However, if any country is not satisfied with them, why not simply subject Nigerians arriving in their country to their own PCR tests and proven conditions, like quarantine, instead of banning them outrightly?

“We sincerely hope the British government will immediately review the decision to put Nigeria on its red list and rescind it immediately. Nigeria has handled the Covid-19 pandemic with utmost responsibility and based on science, and has rightly earned global accolades for its efforts. Nigeria does not belong on any country’s red list.”