Wednesday 8th December 2021: The Nigerian Governors Forum on Tuesday rejected the ban placed on travellers from Nigeria by the UK, Canada and other countries.
The NGF labelled the ban as “arbitrary stigmatisation” and called on the United Nations to look into it.
According to a statement titled, “Omicron: The NGF Rejects Arbitrary Stigmatisation,” signed by the Chairman of the NGF and Ekiti State Governor, Kayode Fayemi, on Tuesday.
The governors argued that the decision to place a ban on Nigeria without a careful study of the facts on ground was discriminatory because nations with higher infection rates were not affected by the ban.

The statement further said, “Only three cases (before Tuesday) of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus were detected in Nigeria less than a week ago, precisely on December 1, 2021.
“Canada and the United Kingdom have hastily included Nigeria among the Omicron present countries which must stay away from their shores, an action viewed by the NGF as precipitate, unfair and discriminatory.
“Omicron still remains relatively unknown globally as it is not yet clear whether it is more transmissible from person to person compared to other variants including Delta.”
The NGF urged the World Health Organisation to intervene by setting uniform standards that are acceptable to all for banning countries across the globe.