COVID-19: CBN, NNPC To Spend N1bn On Quarantine, Feeding Of 3,000 Returnees

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) have accepted to spend 1b on quarantine and feeding of over 3,000 Nigerians once they return due to COVID-19.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, made this known during a briefing by the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 in Abuja.

Brandnewsday gathered that the two institutions agreed on splashing the 1b cost on accommodation and feeding for 14 days once the returnees get back to the country due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Recall that the Federal Government had been brutally criticized for demanding prospective returnees to pay N290,000 for their quarantine and feeding in in Lagos and Abuja, ahead of their evacuation from the United States, United Kingdom, India, China, Thailand and Canada.

The government’s decision was triggered as a result of lack of resources, adding that it could only finance the 620 evacuees currently in quarantine.

However, in a  briefing on Monday, the Minister of Foreign Affairs disclosed that the Federal Government has been challenged for asking the prospective batches of evacuees to pay for their isolation and feeding.

Onyeama said: the government diverted funds meant for something else for the payment of the accommodation and feeding of the first three sets of evacuees currently in isolation.

According to him, the government was aware of the fact that many stranded citizens in foreign countries were desperate to return home. He was advised by the Minister of Environment, Dr Mohammed Abubakar, to solicit financial support from the CBN and the NNPC.

COVID-19: What Geoffrey Onyeama Said:

Onyeama said: “The Minister of Environment, Dr Mohammed Abubakar, on Friday night called me and suggested, ‘why not try NNPC, why not try CBN? They have corporate social responsibility funding.’ I told him I would do that immediately.

“I got in touch with the governor of the CBN and I told him I was going to do the same with the GMD, NNPC, Mele Kyari, and the governor of the central bank agreed.

“We are talking of over N1bn because till now, we have about 4,000 Nigerians out there and if 3,000 of them come back, the cost of accommodation, feeding and everything else is over N1bn that we don’t have and he said he is ready to explore and share with the NNPC.

“I spoke to the GMD of NNPC and he said he is going to consult. So, we kept fingers crossed and thanks be to God, today (Monday), he got back to me to say he was going to meet up with the governor of the Central Bank and together, they would fund the portion – accommodation and feeding of evacuees, so we can go forward in a better environment.”

Speaking on why the evacuees would not be tested for COVID-19 before they are evacuated, the Onyeama reiterated that medical experts advised that it was not necessary, adding that the positive cases among the evacuees from the United Arab Emirates had justified the decision.

The minister said: “Medical experts had told us it was not necessary to test beforehand because the gestation cannot be seen immediately. I think the positive cases in Lagos showed that testing beforehand is not guaranteed, whatsoever.”

Onyeama further disclosed that Nigerians awaiting repatriation in India would soon be brought back by a local airline.