Lagos Airport Scandal: Lagos Gov Suspends Staff Collecting COVID-19 Test Fee

Lagos State Government has suspended an airport staff who requested that the passenger pay PCR Covid-19 test fee into her personal account
The state’s Commissioner for Health clarified that an arrangement involving the payment of fees into a personal account was necessitated by the need to ameliorate the plight of passengers who complained of poor turnaround time at the airport in the confirmation of test fees paid.

Ekohotblog reports that the Lagos State government has suspended Williams Oladipupo, a staff of the government-appointed firm charged with the responsibility of collecting COVID Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test payments and connecting passengers to approved designated private COVID PCR test centres, over alleged misconduct.

It also said it has started a forensic audit on the amount paid so far by passengers travelling into the country, promising that the details of the audit would be made public.

Commissioner for Health, Prof Akin Abayomi, disclosed this on Saturday, in reaction to media report on Friday, October 22, 2021, titled; ‘Passengers Refuse to Pay PCR Test Fee into Private Account’.

This online media recalls that there was pandemonium at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, on Wednesday last week, as travellers arriving in Nigeria from the United Kingdom protested demand by officials of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) that they pay N51,950 into a private account for COVID-19 PCR test.

The passengers who arrived in Nigeria from British Airways, Qatar and Lufthansa flights almost paralysed activities at the airport after officials could not provide a logical response to their question son why they should pay money belonging to the Federal Government into an individual account, Daily Independent reports.

According to COVID-19 protocol from the Presidential Steering Committee and the NCDC, passengers who are travelling to Nigeria from any country must carry out a COVID-19 PCR test and test negative within 72 hours to the day of travel. Travellers must register on the Nigeria International Travel Portal (NITP) for a repeat PCR test to be carried out seven days after arrival.

The government also mandated that passengers arriving at Lagos airport pay N50, 400 for the COVID-19 test, while the price varies for other states, including the FCT.

However, upon arrival at the Lagos airport, passengers who had difficulty in accessing the NCDC website to pay the fees were ordered to pay the sum of N51, 950 into a private account belonging to one Williams Oladipupo.

They were handed over a note that read, ‘1433844324, Access Bank, N51,950 Williams Oladipupo’.

Those who did not have naira were asked to pay in foreign currency. They were debited 95 pounds each.

A young lady stationed at the desk already had the account number written on a sheet of paper. After confirming payment, she will then write down the name of the passenger, email, telephone number, passport number, nationality and preferred laboratory where they want the test to be conducted.

Prof. Akin Abayomi, the state’s Commissioner for Health,

Abayomi, In a statement, however, clarified that an arrangement involving the payment of fees into a personal account was necessitated by the need to ameliorate the plight of passengers who complained of poor turnaround time at the airport in the confirmation of test fees paid, all affected passengers of interest were issued a physical receipt to serve as proof of payment.

The statement read in part, “The attention of the Lagos State Government has been drawn to a news report of Friday, October 22, 2021, entitled, ‘Passengers Refuse To Pay PCR Test Fee Into Private Account.’

“For the avoidance of doubt, it is pertinent to state that the Lagos State government through the Ministry of Health officially began the collection of payments of COVID-19 PCR tests from in bound passengers at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport on the 15th of September 2020 through the services of its contracted partners for a smooth implementation of the mandatory COVID-19 protocols as declared by the Federal Government for in-bound passengers.

“We are aware that access to the national registration and payment portal for COVID-19 has been challenging. Many countries around the world do not permit a passenger to board a flight without showing proof of such registration and booking for post-arrival testing in addition to a negative PCR test done 72hours prior to departure.

“To date, the Lagos State government has been able to assist over 11,000 inbound passengers who were unable to register prior to departure for Lagos by connecting them to approved designated private laboratories in line with the protocol.

“It is important to note that the provision of the option to pay the test fee in the country was introduced to prevent passengers being denied the right to board flights destined for Nigeria without proof of registration and payment with a generated e-receipt.

“Our contracted partners have always supported passengers who experience payment difficulties to ensure that they comply with the federal protocols while payments for the tests are collected at the point of arrival in Lagos and remitted to the assigned laboratories for the mandatory day 7 test.

“Following the allegation, a detailed forensic audit for the period in question was commenced to track all payments made by passengers in-country, and initial results revealed that all payments due to the assigned laboratories collected from inbound passengers have been duly accounted for.

“The final report of this audit would be made available to the public, and if any unscrupulous acts are detected, these would not go unpunished by any individuals indulging in them.

“Whilst it is valid to note that an arrangement involving the payment of fees into a personal account was necessitated by the need to ameliorate the plight of passengers who complained of poor turnaround time at the airport in the confirmation of test fees paid, all affected passengers of interest were issued a physical receipt to serve as proof of payment and till date, we have not received any report of passengers not getting e-receipt via mail after payment.

“Despite this, the named individual has been suspended from his engagement pending the outcome of the ongoing investigation. This action was taken because the stop-gap intervention was carried out without prior approval from his organisation and/or the Lagos State government.

“We have also ordered that this practice to assist passengers on arrival be discontinued immediately, and passengers should be required to wait at the airport till their payments are confirmed by the financial institution.

“Therefore, it is important to ensure that booking and payments are made by inbound passengers prior to departure from their originating country(s) to avoid being delayed on arrival.

“This situation will be ameliorated when a newer version of the national online portal, which has been harmonised with the Lagos State platform, is launched by the end of the month of October 2021.

“Once this new and more efficient portal is launched, it is likely that passengers will not be able to board their flights bound for Nigeria without confirmation of registration and payment for mandatory post-arrival PCR testing as is the practice in most parts of the world.

“These are all necessary protocols to avoid importation of dangerous strains that may trigger a 4th wave in Nigeria. You will recall that the Presidential Steering Committee has recently relaxed these arrival protocols in line with international best practices effective from the 25th of October.

“We fully understand and support the grouse and suspicions being expressed by certain passengers, particularly regarding this stop-gap payment options.

“Going forward, the public should be aware that there are arrays of payment options available for the mandatory PCR test which include payments using both credit or debit cards on the online platform, direct transfers to the accredited and responsible financial institution accounts and payments using the PoS machines made available at the airport for passengers that were unsuccessful in making these payments before departure from their country of origin.

“The intermediary payment option that has created this unfortunate scenario ceases to exist going forward because it is in consistent with acceptable fiscal and fiduciary transactions.”

Paul Mbagwu