COVID-19: FG To Now Pay For Returnees Quarantine — See How Much Will Be Spent

Nigeria government on Monday said citizens in foreign countries who are desirous of returning to the country amid the COVID-19 scourge will no longer have to worry about footing the bills of their two-week quarantine.

Speaking during the Presidential Taskforce daily briefing in Abuja, Minister of Foreign Affairs Geofrey Onyeama, said the cost of the quarantine will now be borne by the federal government through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

He said the decision of the two government institutions to offset the costs was part of their corporate social responsibility and their contributions to the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

The bills, estimated to be about N1billion will cover the hotel accommodation and feeding for 3,000 out of the 4,000 people being expected.

Already, returnees from United Arab Emirates (UAE), the United States and the United Kingdom are in the country at government expense.

It would be recalled that the Federal government last week had said it would no longer pay for the stay of the evacuees in isolation due to financial constraints.

Onyeama said the government was not happy asking would-be returnees to foot the bills but for the dearth of cash.

He said the fund used for the isolation of those that had returned was meant for something else.

The minister said: “Last Friday night after getting all the barrage from around the world, including allegation that we were conspiring with hotels to fleece Nigerians and other forms of accusations, we tried to find a way out of it.

“Minister of Environment, Dr. Mahmoud Abubakar, called me and suggested that we approach the NNPC and the CBN. He reminded me that the two organisations had corporate social responsibility funds.

“I got in touch with the Governor of the CBN (Godwin Emefiele) and the GMD of the NNPC (Mele Kyari). I thank them generously for agreeing to spend over N1 billion because we have over 4,000 Nigerians out there.

If over 3,000 come back, the cost of accommodation, feeding and other things is over a billion that we don’t have.

“But thank God the governor of the CBN and the GMD agreed to fund the accommodation and feeding of the would-be evacuees.”