Nigeria: Buhari bars VIPs’ aides from airport terminals

Last updated on September 11th, 2021 at 02:39 pm

The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), has given an approval to the Federal Ministry of Aviation to stop all aides of public office holders and other very important personalities from gaining entry into airport terminals.

According to the Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, all special assistants or personal assistants of VIP are no more allowed at airports when such persons are not travelling.

Sirika also declared that any passenger who fails to wear a face mask would not be allowed to board their flight as commercial activities resume fully on Wednesday, beginning with Abuja and Lagos airports.

The minister disclosed this at Monday’s briefing of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 in Abuja.

He said, “President Muhammadu Buhari has approved; and this is a very serious matter for us, that hitherto big men, especially military men, ministers, members of the National Assembly, governors and the judiciary are culprits.

“They have all these their PAs and SAs, who are not travelling and they insist on taking them inside up to the aircraft. This will not be allowed; it will not be permitted and they will be stopped.”

According to him, firearms are not allowed at airports.

On whether there would be physical distancing in airplanes, Sirika explained that it was very safe to be in the aircraft cabin, describing the air inside airplanes as fresh, clean and already purified.

The minister said unruly passengers would not be allowed to fly as no pilot would fly a plane carrying an unruly traveller.

“An unruly passenger is not allowed to board our aircraft. Once you are an unruly passenger, the pilot will not move and you will be dropped. So by not wearing the mask, you will be classified as an unruly passenger,” he said.

(Punch)