Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike, recently ordered the arrest of two pilots of Caverton Helicopters and 10 passengers. The arrest was made because Caverton Helicopters had on more than one occasion allegedly violated the governor’s executive order on the ongoing coronavirus lockdown in the state. However, the Minister of Aviation, Alhaji Hadi Sirika, questioned the governor’s action on the ground that the two pilots of Caverton Helicopters and their 10 passengers operated a permit granted to them by the Ministry of Aviation. Sirika insisted that since aviation is on the exclusive legislative list, it was beyond the governor’s purview to order the arrest of the pilots who had the permit of the federal ministry to fly.
The Rivers State government has nonetheless maintained that the pilots and passengers were arrested because they constantly contravened the executive order which required everyone coming into the state for essential duties to be subject to mandatory health checks to ascertain their coronavirus status. The Rivers State authorities stated further that they had previously issued several warnings to Caverton and other operators to ensure that their pilots and passengers were tested by the state’s health authorities, warnings which Caverton Helicopters had allegedly disregarded.
We think that the governor was right in taking action against Caverton Helicopters for flying in passengers into the state without allowing health professionals of the Rivers State government to ascertain their coronavirus status. It was in the interest of public health and safety that the state government issued the executive order and the Federal Government certainly recognises the role of state governments in health, which is on the concurrent legislative list. Indeed, the state governments are in a better position to identify cases of coronavirus and take measures to trace their contacts, isolate and test them to ascertain their health status as part of measures to contain the spread of the virus. In any case, the National Centre for Disease Control(NCDC), an agency of the Federal Government, has been working with the states to play this role more effectively. What is at issue is not the question of the power to issue landing permits; it is public health and safety.
The response of the Minister of Aviation is therefore unfortunate and goes contrary to the general disposition of the Federal Government in addressing the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. The minster should recognise that issuing landing permits must take into consideration concerns about public health. The issuance of landing permits to airlines should always be subject to the observance of the rules and regulations concerning public safety and health. This is a general principle in all forms of transport whether by road, sea or air. As the Rivers State government noted, no one is permitted to compromise a state’s health system in any circumstances, not even when they are transporting workers on essential services. We advise the Ministry of Aviation to include a clause that requires pilots and aviation companies to observe rules and regulations concerning public health and safety in the states where they operate if this has not been the case previously. There is no contradiction between the requirements of public health and the need for essential services. This should be obvious to all stakeholders. The performance of essential services requires intergovernmental collaboration to be successful in a federation.
By ordering the arrest and prosecution of those refusing to observe public health regulations in the state, Governor Wike has done nothing amiss. Allowing individuals to flout public health regulations on the ground that they are on essential services will not augur well for the effort to contain the spread of coronavirus. We urge everyone to observe such regulations. Indeed, observing the stay-at-home order which has been instituted in some states without observing other rules of keeping safe will be counterproductive.
Nevertheless, we urge the Federal Government and the Rivers State government to seek an amicable resolution of the pending matter, and work together going forward. Currently, they appear to be nurturing an adversarial relationship. That cannot augur well for the country in the long run. We therefore call on all concerned to work towards defeating the virus rather than engaging in needless and unhelpful muscle flexing over governmental jurisdiction.
