Chuks Okocha and Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja, Ernest Chinwo in Port Harcourt
The Rivers State Government has said it
ordered the arrest of two pilots of Caverton Helicopters and their
passengers because the company failed to provide the affected persons
for tests by the state’s health authorities. The Commissioner for
Information and Communications, Pastor Paulinus Nsirim, stated this
yesterday in Port Harcourt while addressing journalists. Nsirim said
Caverton Helicopters had ferried over 220 passengers into the state
without allowing health professionals of the state government to
ascertain their coronavirus status, despite a health emergency and a
lockdown order in the state.
The Caverton pilots had undertaken a
trip to Port Harcourt to drop oil workers said to be on essential duty
when the state government arrested them for flouting a lockdown order
put in place to check the spread of the coronavirus. Their
arrest and detention caused a rift between the state and federal
governments, with Minister of Aviation Hadi Sirika insisting the
Governor Nyesom Wike government acted illegally because the workers had
been authorised by the federal government. Sirika, who also spoke
yesterday in Abuja at a Presidential Task Force on coronavirus press
briefing, said the pilots were on a national assignment. He stressed
that the chairman of the taskforce, Boss Mustapha, had announced the
exemption of oil and gas industry workers from the lockdown order in the
national interest.
Reacting to the standoff, the Trade
Union Congress of Nigeria appealed to both the federal and Rivers
State governments to moderate their stance on the issue of the arrested
pilots and workers of Caverton Helicopters and Shell Petroleum to make
for peaceful resolution of the squabble.
Similarly, the main opposition Peoples
Democratic Party yesterday called for dialogue between the two
parties. PDP National Publicity Secretary Kola Ologbondiyan said the
party was deeply concerned that the aviation minister, who seemed more
interested in politics than the safety of the citizens, was escalating
an issue of protocol, which could have been managed through dialogue, to
dangerous political dimensions.
Explaining the position of the state,
Nsirim said, “Contrary to the view being peddled by the Minister of
Aviation, Alhaji Hadi Sirika, the two pilots of Caverton Helicopters and
their 10 passengers were not arrested because they operated a permit
granted them by the Ministry of Aviation. They were arrested because
they constantly contravened the Executive Order issued by the Governor
of Rivers State, His Excellency, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, which requires that
everyone coming into the state for essential duties subject themselves
to mandatory health checks to ascertain their coronavirus status.
“Before their arrests, the Rivers State
Government issued several warnings to Caverton and other operators to
ensure that their pilots and passengers are tested by Rivers State
health authorities. Caverton Helicopters disregarded the warnings.
“At the last count, Caverton Helicopters
ferried over 220 passengers into the state without allowing health
professionals of the Rivers State Government ascertain their coronavirus
status. They also refused to avail the state government their contacts,
so they can be traced and tested.”
The commissioner restated the
administration’s commitment to the protection of the over six million
citizens of the state, saying, “The Rivers State Government under the
leadership of His Excellency, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, remains committed to
the protection of the over six million citizens of the state. We are not
struggling to issue landing permits to airlines; neither are we
contending for the control of the airspace. Therefore, the issue on
ground has nothing to do with the Exclusive List.
“The focus of the Rivers State government is to ensure that nobody
under the guise of transporting workers on essential services, ferries
in persons who will compromise our health system. Therefore, these
pilots and passengers must be subjected to health checks before they
carry out their responsibilities. That is standard practice.“From all indications, it is clear that there is a plot to compromise the health of Rivers people. Otherwise, what is the motive for the grandstanding and the sponsorship of false editorials to mislead Nigerians by agents of the federal government?
“The Rivers State government urges the federal government to direct all their business associates to subject themselves to health checks to ascertain their coronavirus status. On this premise, the Rivers State government is not prepared to compromise.”
On its part, TUC blamed the federal and state governments for adopting an aggressive attitude to the issue and instigating an avoidable clash. The union said though both tiers of government were working for the national interest, they left a communication gap that deepened into a crisis.
“Communication gap is the reason for
this imbroglio. We are in a precarious time. An issue like this should
not have arisen if there was synergy. Flexing of muscles will further
worsen our situation,” TUC said, in a statement by its president,
Comrade Quadri Olaleye, and Secretary General, Comrade Musa-Lawal Ozigi.
The union urged the federal and Rivers
State governments to avoid unnecessary show of power at this critical
time of health emergency, as it could worsen the situation.
The TUC statement said, “As an
organisation, we do not want to dwell on who is right or wrong. Agreed,
the flight was on a special operation and was duly approved by relevant
government agencies, including the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority
(NCAA), well and good. But the state government should have been carried
along, taking into consideration the federal government’s order and
restriction of movement following the coronavirus pandemic.
“The governor, on his part, went to the
extreme if the alleged report of invasion into a military base to arrest
workers who were on a lawful national assignment is true. Prosecuting,
instead of isolating, them is bad. Revenue from oil runs the economy and
if the federal government thought it wise to devise a means of
sustaining the economy in the midst of this challenge, it is a perfect
idea; however, all parties should be carried along to avoid laudable
moves being misconstrued.
“The Congress wishes to reiterate here
that we do not need flexing of muscles now. It is unnecessary, as it
will further create tension in the state, and the country at large. The
hunger pang is enough. No body should be taken for granted, no matter
what.
“All we need and ask for now is a sane
and secure environment that would encourage the needed development after
the coronavirus scourge.”
In a similar vein, PDP called on the
federal government to refrain from acts, like the one in Rivers State,
which portray it as politicising the fight against the coronavirus
pandemic.
The statement by the Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP) national
publicity secretary said, “Our party holds that the issue of public
health and safety should be of major concern to all actors in government
irrespective of the offices they occupy.
“We find it strange that the federal
government would be supporting a private business to disobey the extant
order of a state. We hold that all decisions and actions of the Rivers
State Governor, Nyesom Wilke, so far, rests on ensuring public safety
and protecting the people of Rivers State from the scary wrath of
COVID-19.”
The party called on the federal
government, particularly the Minister of Aviation, to pursue the path of
dialogue and stop politicising Covid-19 pandemic
PDP asked the federal government to
direct Caverton and its workers to subject themselves to health checks
and procedures established by the Rivers State Health Surveillance
Officials.
It said President Muhammadu Buhari
should, as a matter of urgency, provide incentives for Rivers State to
enable the state perform its responsibility as the oil and gas hub of
the country, particularly at this critical time of corovirus pandemic.
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