The Federal Government has formally reported Kenya Airways to the International Civil Aviation Organisation for conveying a corpse from the Ebola-infected Democratic Republic of Congo to Nigeria without the necessary approval.
The Minister of Health, Prof Isaac Adewole, disclosed this to State House correspondents on Wednesday at the end of the weekly meeting of the Federal Executive Council presided over by the acting President, Yemi Osinbajo, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The Minister of Health, Prof Isaac Adewole, disclosed this to State House correspondents on Wednesday at the end of the weekly meeting of the Federal Executive Council presided over by the acting President, Yemi Osinbajo, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Adewole said the ICAO was formally notified of the development so that the foreign airline could be sanctioned appropriately.
The ICAO is a United Nations specialised agency established by member states in 1944 to manage the administration and governance of the Convention on International Civil Aviation (Chicago Convention).
The organisation works with the Convention’s 191 member states and industry groups to reach consensus on international civil aviation Standards and Recommended Practices and policies in support of a safe, efficient, secure, economically sustainable and environmentally responsible civil aviation sector.
Notwithstanding the airline’s illegal action, the minister said it was nothing to worry about because the corpse that was repatriated to the country tested negative to the Ebola virus or any other viral haemorrhagic fever.
Adewole said, “We briefed the council about the unfortunate incident of a body that was flown into Nigeria from the Democratic Republic of Congo.
“That body was flown in without the necessary approval. The standard procedure is that for you to fly a body into Nigeria, you need what we call a waiver which is in form of an approval to be issued by the Ministry of Health. This was not sought in this particular instance.
“We have formally notified the International Civil Aviation Organisation so that Kenya Airways could actually be sanctioned.
“In addition to that, we are reassuring Nigerians that the body tested negative to Ebola or any of the viral haemorrhagic fever. We know the cause of the death but for confidential reasons, we do not have to disclose it. But it is nothing really to worry about.
“We are on top of the situation and we are happy about the way we handled the situation. The entire premises were decontaminated immediately and the body was taken away.”
The minister also assured Nigerians that the meningitis outbreak witnessed in some parts of the country recently was almost over.
He said the ministry had started preparations to forestall a recurrence.
“We also presented a report about the meningitis outbreak and we are happy to inform the nation that we are almost at the end of the outbreak. What we are now doing is to prepare and ensure that this does not repeat itself next year,” he said.
Adewole also disclosed that the council approved a joint venture agreement between the Federal Government and a firm, May and Baker Plc, to establish a company called Bio Vaccines Limited that would be producing common vaccines locally.
He said the board of the company would be comprised of seven members – four from the firm and three from the Federal Government while the equity participation would be 51 per cent for the firm and 49 per cent for the government.
He said, “The company will between 2017 and 2021 produce many of the basic vaccines that we need.
“We have considered vaccines as a security issue. It is not only health, but we need to guarantee the security of all Nigerians, particularly our children.”
The minister said with the approval, the Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami (SAN), would perfect the agreement that hopefully would be signed in the next two weeks to pave the way for the commencement.
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