Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has called on the Federal Government to stop flights from countries most affected by the deadly novel coronavirus (Covid-19).
An Italian, who arrived Lagos from Milan on Tuesday, tested positive to the virus, health officials said on Friday.
In a message of hope also posted on Twitter, Atiku said Nigerians should not panic but be optimistic that the virus would be ‘defeated’ like Ebola was in 2014.
“Nigeria needs firm and decisive actions to prevent an escalation of the scourge. Recently, we closed our borders as an act against economic sabotage,” he said, “Perhaps now is the time to temporarily halt flights to and from any nation with a prevalence of this scourge. It is more important to secure human lives than to secure an economy. We also need to invest in early detection facilities at our airports.
“But above all, Nigeria must not panic whether at government or individual levels. We have defeated Ebola before, and we can defeat this present predicament.”
The former presidential candidate added: “This crisis is an opportunity to show that we are first and foremost Nigerians and that we have no other country but our dear fatherland, which we must work together to keep healthy and secure.”
