The Senate has urged the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs to liaise with the Ghanaian government to strengthen bilateral relations between both countries.
The Senate said that such step would prevent the maltreatment of Nigerians travelling to Ghana.
It made the recommendations after it considered a report by the Joint Committee on Health (Secondary and Tertiary); Primary Health and Communicable Diseases; and Foreign Affairs.
The report was on the motion on “The Urgent Need To Conduct Investigation On The Allegation of Fake COVID-19 Test Result Being Used To Defraud Nigerians In Ghana; And The Obtainment Of Fake Covid-19 Vaccination Cards.”
The Chairman of the Joint Committee, Senator Yahaya Oloriegbe, in his presentation, recalled that the investigation was necessitated by allegations that the Ghanaian authorities diagnosed Nigerians who travelled to their country of testing positive for COVID-19 even after testing negative in Nigeria.
He said it was alleged further that Nigerian travellers to the country were committed to isolation for two weeks at N70,000 equivalent daily, an amount running into millions of Naira.
He disclosed that investigations showed that Nigerians were possibly exploited at the Ghana International Airport going by explanations by the Presidential Steering Committee on COVID-19.
The lawmaker said the Chairman of the Presidential Steering Committee on COVID-19, Mr. Boss Mustapha, appeared before the investigative panel.
Mustapha, according to Oloriegbe, explained that Ghana conducts Rapid-Ag testing on arrival at the airport, which has less sensitivity and specificity compared to the PCR test done in Nigeria.
Oloriegbe said: “For this reason, it is expected that the Rapid-Ag Test will correctly classify Positive PCR tests but may fail to correctly classify all negative PCR test results.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs would need to establish and report back whether the reported case is an isolated event or systemic error or fraud.”
On the allegations that people were obtaining fake COVID-19 vaccination cards and test results, Oloriegbe explained that Mustapha stated that for the purpose of international (outbound) travels, COVID-19 PCR Tests were conducted by accredited laboratories and are verifiable on the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) platform through a QR Code.
The senator added that the NCDC verification portal, which hosts all validated PCR tests for outbound passengers, would be made visible to the airlines so that certification could be done for the airline staff.
Oloriegbe stated that the PSC utilises the services of security operatives to deal with passengers who blatantly refuse to comply with travel protocols for both in-bound and out-bound passengers.
He, however, lamented that despite these measures, some “high-ranking officials” or those that are “connected” sometimes threaten the staff on duty and find a way to escape.
He said that the Presidential Steering Committee on COVID-19 sought the support of the National Assembly to ensure that all high-profile persons who failed to comply with existing protocols are prosecuted accordingly.
The Senate, in its resolutions, urged the Federal Ministry of Health and the Presidential Steering Committee (PSC) to develop an exit protocol for all outbound passengers where authentication of the vaccination cards and PCR tests certificates would be conducted at the airport.
It also called on the Ministry of Health, through its Port Health Services Department, to link PCR results platforms with the airline platforms to ensure effective coordination and detection of any fake PCR test result.
The chamber urged the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs to liaise with the Ghanaian Government to strengthen bilateral relations that would prevent a re-occurrence of any ill-treatment of Nigerians entering Ghana.
The Senate called on the PSC to consider the reduction of cost of PCR testing for those who still required it for travel purposes.
It urged the presidential committee on COVID-19 to continuously update its travel protocols/advisory as the epidemiology of the disease changes, and also to promptly brief Nigerians on these changes.
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