AHMADU Fintiri, the governor of Adamawa State and eight other aides have disobeyed the airport COVID-19 guideline by refusing to take temperature checks, according to the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN).
The Airport authority made this known on Thursday via its official twitter handle condemning the action of the Adamawa state governor.
According to FAAN, Fintiri arrived at the Port Harcourt International Airport alongside eight others and refused to be sanitised or have his temperature taken.
“The Management of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) hereby strongly condemns the conduct of the Governor of Adamawa state Alh Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri, who arrived Port Harcourt International Airport aboard aircraft 5N-IZY, at 17:08 hrs on 14th July 2020 with 8 others.”
FAAN noted that the governor and eight others “flagrantly refused to observe the Airport Security and Public Health protocols as directed by the Federal Government through the Presidential Task Force (PTF).
“The team that came to receive them drove right through the barricades up to the terminal building ignoring traffic and Aviation Security instructions,” FAAN disclosed.
This followed a recent report by the FAAN alleging that the former governor of Zamfara State, Abdul-Aziz Yari also refused to have his luggage disinfected by Environmental officials in the Airport.
However, both Yari and Fintiri have respectively denied flouting the guidelines as claimed by the Airport Authority.
Governors says FAAN’s allegations are untrue
Yari threatened to sue FAAN for alleging he assaulted the environmental officer and claiming he violated the guidelines as stipulated by the PTF.
The ICIR noticed that the FAAN, following Yari’s statement, deleted the twitter post which alleged that the former governor assaulted an officer.
Solomon Kumangar, the Adamawa State Director General of Media and Communications, in a statement said the governor did not flout the guideline but only refused to fill a mandatory form by himself.
“Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri and his team subjected themselves to the protocol, including temperature check, the only thing the Governor took exception to is filling a form as the airport demanded, the statement read.
Kumangar said Finitri refused to fill the form because his protocol officer or orderly could fill it for him.
Lukman Abolade is an Investigative reporter with The ICIR. Reach out to him via [email protected], on twitter @AboladeLAA and FB @Correction94
i THINK THE LAW SHOULD HAVE ITS WAY WITH THESE PERSONS TO MAKE IT CLEAR TO ALL THAT THE GOVERNMENT IS SERIOUS ABOUT CURTAILING THIS PANDEMIC. WE CANNOT AFFORD TO SPEAK FROM BOTH SIDES OF OUR MOUTH AS THE NUMBER OF INFECTED AND DEATHS CONTINUE TO RISE