T&T Government Maintains Ban On Nigerians

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad CMC – The Trinidad and Tobago government says it is maintaining a ban on travellers from Nigeria entering the oil-rich twin island republic, even though the World Health Organization (WHO) Monday, declared the African country free of the deadly Ebola virus that has killed nearly 5,000 people.

“The decision of the Cabinet would stand until further notice from the Prime Minister,” Health Minister Dr. Fuad Khan said, hinting at the possibility of relaxing the stringent rules.

“So we will look at it again, based on the new information. Obviously it would be looked at, it would be discussed by the Cabinet and a decision would be taken,” he added.

Last week, Trinidad and Tobago joined several Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries in banning nationals from Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea from entering the country because of the Ebola virus for which there is no known cure.

CARICOM Chairman and Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne defended the decision of the regional states, noting “the restriction is necessary.

“Even if we end up with a single case of Ebola, it has serious consequences for our tourism product. Most of our countries are dependent on tourism and I can assure you that if any of our respective countries has a single case of Ebola then you can see, potentially, maybe a 30 to 50 percent  drop in tourism. That means immense hardship for our people,” Browne added.

Last Friday, a Nigerian national, Malond Aisha Adu, was prevented from entering Trinidad and Tobago and the WHO said that Nigeria’s containment of Ebola was a “spectacular success story”.

The WHO said it had worked with the US Centers for Disease Control, with ample financial and material resources from Nigeria’s government, in implementing several measures to deal with the virus.