The Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 has announced new travel rules for passengers coming into Nigeria from South Africa and the UK where new variants of the virus have been discovered.

The National Coordinator of the PTF, Dr Sani Aliyu made the announcement on Thursday in Abuja, during a media briefing.

Aliyu said effective from Monday, all passengers coming into the country from the UK and South Africa on direct flights must use the Nigerian International Travel Portal to register.

They are to also fill in the health questionnaire and must upload a negative COVID-19, polymerase chain reaction, (PCR) result with a validity of not more than five days.

He added that travellers must pay for a COVID-19 PCR test at day seven of arrival in the country without which they would not be allowed to board the flights.

The coordinator also said a special register would be opened at the airports for passengers from these two countries specifically to track and ensure they presented themselves for the COVID-19 test on day seven.

He said there would be sanctions on passengers that presented fake PRC results.

“We’ll continue to be concerned about the emergence of the new variant coronavirus in the UK and additional mutate that was described coming from South Africa.

“The system for travels in terms of ensuring the safety of our citizens and preventing the importation of cases in the country is one of the most strict.

“We are one of the few countries that do double testing, that has a travel portal where you can go in and enter your details including your health questionnaire and pay for a test.

“Specifically, for the UK and South Africa, the PTF has met and we have decided that additional measures will be required to ensure the safety of our citizens.

“So effective from 00 hours on Monday, Dec. 28, all passengers coming into the country from the UK and South Africa on direct flights, must use the Nigerian International Travel Portal to register.

“Fill in the health questionnaire and must upload a negative COVID-19 PCR result with a validity of not more than five days and must pay for a COVID PCR test at day seven of arrival in-country.

“When you are leaving the UK or South Africa, you need two documents that you have to present to the airlines.

“The first document is a negative COVID-19 PCR result, second is a permit to travel document, which we use to refer to as the QR code.

“The only way you can get the permit to travel on the travel portal is by filling in your health questionnaire electronically, uploading your PCR result and paying for the day seven test.

“If you do not present permit travel or you cannot present a travel permit, the airlines are being directed not to board.

“So if you are coming into Nigeria from the UK and South Africa, it is in your best interest to familiarise yourself with the Nigerian International Travel Portal and make sure that you put in your health details.

“Upload your PCR result that has to be negative and you pay for a day seven test upon arrival in Nigeria.

“The second enforcement that we will have has to do with the seven-day self-isolation upon arrival in the country. We had a lot of debates on if we should institute mandatory quarantine when the people arrive.

“We have decided that when you arrive, we will open a special register for all passengers arriving from these two countries.

“We will have enhanced surveillance where these passengers will be contacted after they have arrived home, we will be checking on them to see if they are having any symptoms.

“But more importantly, we expect these passengers by day seven to unfailing go for their COVID-19 PCR test which they must have before boarding the aircraft.

“We have already mentioned right from September when we opened up International airspace that there will be penalties for not abiding by the protocols.

“President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday approved that from now on particularly for those coming from the UK and South Africa, we will pay special attention to these flights.

“If you do not do your day seven tests by day 10, you will automatically go into the suspension list. Your travel document – passport will be suspended for a minimum period of six months.

“If you carry a foreign passport with a visa, we will revoke your visa. And because it is easier to track a smaller group of persons than a larger group of passengers.

“That has always been our challenge, we are now able to enforce this especially for passengers from the UK and South Africa until further notice.

“In addition to that, over this weekend, we are going to publish the list of 100 Nigerian passport numbers that we have for six months.

“We have already contacted these passengers and we have confirmed that they have not done a COVID -19 PCR test. We will not be publishing names, but the passport numbers.

“From now on, people that are travelling must abide by our protocols, there will be repercussions if you don’t. There will be penalties.

“In addition to this, we will also be instituting the same penalties for people presenting fake COVID-19 PCR results at our airports on exiting or on arrival.

“For those that are exiting, we have a code that we have developed and we are asking the airlines to start using which will entail entering the code for every result into our website that will tell you whether the result is fake or not.

“So, please do not buy or use the fake result, you are putting others at risks if you do so,” he said.

Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has called on All Progressives Congress (APC) governors to own up to the reality of the Federal Government’s failure.

Governor Wike said the APC-led Federal Government promised to offer better governance that would ensure the safety of lives and property of the citizens but has failed to fulfil its promise.

The governor made the assertion at the inauguration ceremony organised to open for public use two strategic roads – Woji and Obagi, in GRA Phase 2 in Obio/Akpor Local Government Areas, which was performed by Oyo State Governor, Oluseyi Makinde, yesterday.

He said virtually everything has collapsed in the country under the APC-led Federal Government. He said if Nigeria is truly a democratic country, nobody would be a proud member of APC anymore.

“I hear the Progressives Governors’ Forum saying there is insecurity. Who is responsible? They should come out openly and say the party in power has failed. Nigerians gave a mandate to APC at the Federal Government level and, therefore, they must own up that they have failed Nigerians.

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“Everything has collapsed in the country. Security has collapsed. The economy has collapsed. There is nothing working in the country. Today, all over Nigeria, there is insecurity everywhere.

“The other day, in Katsina State, they took about 400. The next day, they said they took 84. Now, again, they said they have taken a village head, the wife and 14 people in Katsina State.

“When there was a problem in this state (Rivers), about the level of kidnapping, I shouted, but nobody listened to us. They said it was politics and that we were killing APC people. I said when you introduce politics to security the consequences will be great.

“Now, it is everywhere. Until they come to apologise to Rivers State that they are sorry for what they have done to us, then, God will forgive all of them,” Wike said.

The governor further said he has not disappointed Rivers people who gave him their mandate to improve the quality of living in the state, improve infrastructure, guarantee the security of lives and property.

According to him, he is not tired serving the state, and when he eventually leaves office, he could confidently walk on the streets without security protection because he has served the people well.

“We are proud because we can come out and say to the people of Port Harcourt and Obio/Akpor local governments this is what PDP has done for you by the projects carried out in these two local governments.

“Also, we can go to other local governments and say look, vote for us. If they ask us why do you say we should vote for you, we will show proofs.

“Very soon, we will go to them and we will be able to tell them, yes, this is what we have done, therefore, having done this, if you vote for us again, there is the likelihood we will do more,” Wike said.

He enjoined owners of business places and other investors in the state to continue to pay their tax to enable the government to provide more quality projects.

Makinde said with the evidence of the performance of Governor Wike, it would be difficult to convince Rivers people to abandon PDP for another party.

He said development projects were an integral part of democracy because it is used to measure the level of progress a society makes under such democratic leadership and the Wike-led government has committed to the task.

“Indeed, all right-minded people like to identify with progress irrespective of their personal feeling towards the initiator. Development is a big part of our democracy and every project counts towards the overall progress of the nation.

“We are blessed to be leaders at this point of Nigeria’s history where there seems to be a reawakening of political consciousness, especially among the young people,” he said