The General Manager, Corporate Communications, FAAN, Mrs Henrietta Yakubu, made this known to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos following a fresh outbreak of the disease in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
NAN reports that the Federal Executive Council had on Wednesday directed that steps should be taken to prevent the disease from coming into Nigeria.
Yakubu said FAAN had never stopped the screening of inbound passengers at the airports after the outbreak which occurred in Nigeria in 2014 after an American-Liberian, Mr Patrick Sawyer, brought it into the country.
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Yakubu said FAAN still had all the equipment and adequate personnel at the airport to prevent the virus from coming into the country.
“We have always had thermal scanners in our airports that monitor temperature of passengers and capture their pictures. We still have hand sanitisers in our rest rooms too.
“When passengers walk pass the scanners, it registers their temperature. If yours is high, you are pulled aside for observation,” she explained.
According to her, the scanners are fixed apparatus at the arrival halls that take the picture and temperature of any given passenger at a particular time as the traveller passes through them.
Yakubu added that this was being supported by Port Health officers who ensure that any suspicious person is brought in for observation.
She said the authority would not relent on its effort at ensuring that inbound passengers were properly screened at the airports.
Also, the General Secretary, National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE), Mr Olayinka Abioye, said government had what it takes to prevent the deadly virus from coming into the country again.
“Nigeria can checkmate the virus and we have what it takes. When I was coming into the country recently I saw numerous staff of port health service and I never knew they were as many as that.
“FAAN officials were also at the arrival hall checking passengers as they come in, asking what flights and country they were coming in from.
“They also have the equipment ready to check passengers as they move into the arrival hall.
“I do not have any doubt whatsoever because they have the capacity to curtail it and all that is needed is proper information,” he said.
Abioye said in line with government’s positions, FAAN also needed to apportion aviation workers against associating or mixing with passengers who came from that part of the country.
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He said all the country needed to do was to involve in positive propagation of Ebola and the dangers in associating with anyone who was already infected.
“I believe our security agencies at the airports, particularly, the Customs, Immigration, Port Health Services attendance and other allied security providers have to be properly briefed,” he said.
Abioye commended the Nigerian government for being very much alive to its responsibilities of preventing the disease from getting into the country.
(NAN)
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