By Akanimo Kufre (The New Diplomat’s A/Ibom|C/River Correspondent)
Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River State has drawn the ire of the All Progressive Congress State Publicity Secretary, Mr. Bassey Ita over the plea by Ayade to President Muhammadu Bihari to lift the existing ban on domestic flights as continued ban may stifle the state lucrative tourism industry.
Ayade, had over the weekend while inspecting the ongoing asphalting of the Odukpani – Calabar highway dualization argued that continual closure of Nigeria’s domestic airspace was impacting negatively on the aviation, hospitality and tourism sectors of the economy, warning that the adverse effects of another four weeks closure of the airspace could be catastrophic.
According to him, “the suspension of domestic flights has affected most hotels leading to their closure. It is so bad that most hotels including the 5-star hotels are shutting down because they cannot even sustain the cost of diesel for their generating sets and as that happens, they start laying off workers. So you have a lot of workers, young people who used to work in the hotels and tourism industry out of jobs. And the big question is, how long can this continue?”
The governor is worried that continued closure of the country’s domestic flights has a downside ripple effect on SMEs.
“The caterers who supply food to the hotels are all out of business. All the suppliers are out of business. So as we continue to lock the domestic airports for another four weeks, what we are going to have in terms of economic loss, what we are going to have in terms of social delinquency, the associated moral and social tension that will come with it will be just too huge for the country to bear.”
Ayade who championed the use of Nose Mask as a Precautionary Principle against COVID 19 suggested that rather than ban domestic flights, the Nigeria Center for Disease Control, NCDC, should devise strict guidelines to enable the aviation sector to continue to operate without escalating the number of COVID-19 cases.
“We can still be safe while allowing the internals of Nigeria to run. We can do so by allowing domestic airlines to start flying. As they fly, NCDC should spell out certain conditions like making sure aircrafts are properly disinfected, ensuring temperature tests are carried out before passengers get on board, and of course, ensuring that all passengers wear proper masks. The airlines can have their own masks that they can give to passengers” he said,
This has however not gone down well with Ita who argued that Ayade’s theory at this time is inapplicable as the state tourism industry was not optimized before COVID 19. He queried the governor’s rationale on total lockdown and requested that the World Health Organization’, WHO and Federal Government COVID 19 protocol be adhered to.
“What does the governor mean by lifting the ban on domestic flights and at the same time profess total lockdown of land and Sea borders. Moreover which hotel is working in Calabar? What activities are there to attract visitors? The governor should rather seek to resolve bedeviling security crisis, cult activities, and kidnappings in the state. Calabar is no longer Paradise City.
There are World Health Organization and Federal Government protocol for COVID 19 control including restriction of flights” Bassey said.
