THE Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, has directed investigation into the alleged breach of airport protocol by some dignitaries. He said anyone found guilty risks imprisonment for not less than two months.
Sirika said some dignitaries have been alleged to have flouted airport protocols. The dignitaries are: the former governor of Zamfara State, Abdulaziz Yari, the governor of Adamawa State, Ahmadu Fintiri.
The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) had condemned the conduct of Yari and Fintiri in series of tweet posted on Wednesday and Thursday, on its official twitter handle, @FAAN_Official.
It was alleged that Fintiri refused to have his temperature checked and sanitised by the health officials stationed at the Port Harcourt International airport while Yari was alleged to have breached protocols at the Malam Aminu Kano International Airport last week when he refused an officer from the environment department from disinfecting his luggage.
Reacting to the development, Sirika said: “The ministry has received lots of inquiries regarding some unruly passengers. These alleged unruly passengers included the former governor of Zamfara State, Abdulaziz Yari, whom I spoke with yesterday at length, the current governor of Adamawa, Ahmadu Fintiri.
In the said tweet, FAAN had described the ex-governor’s conduct as irresponsible, stressing that Yari refused to submit his luggage for disinfection at the airport as he claimed to be a VIP.
The statement said: “We wish to state categorically that His Excellency, Abdulaziz Yari, did pass through the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport on the said day, but did not assault any airport official. He also followed all the COVID-19 preventive protocols set by FAAN.
The Adamawa State Government also denied claims that Fintiri did not subject himself to airport protocol.
“Governor Ahmadu Fintiri and his team subjected themselves to protocol, including temperature check,” the state Director General of Media & Communications, Mr Solomon Kumangar, said yesterday.
The Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) was reported as accusing the governor and members of his entourage of refusing to have their temperature checked as a precautionary measure against COVID-19.