The Federal government on Tuesday got tougher with the enforcement of its directives on compulsory COVID-19 vaccination.
The central government, which on December 1 disallowed unvaccinated civil servants from accessing their offices, on Tuesday barred visitors that were not vaccinated from government buildings in Abuja.
The Presidential Steering Committee on COVID-19 led by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, had in October said civil servants without proof of vaccination and negative coronavirus tests would not be allowed to enter their offices as from December 1, 2021. On Wednesday last week, security agents started barring unvaccinated civil servants from government buildings.
On Tuesday, the Federal Government stopped contractors, journalists and other regular visitors from entering various ministries in the Federal Capital Territory.
Responding to a question on whether the restriction of unvaccinated workers ought to be extended to journalists and others, the Head of Technical Secretariat, Presidential Steering Committee on COVID-19, Mukhtar Muhammad, simply said, “it is not out of order.”
About 10 federal ministries are located in the Federal Secretariat complex and the Office of the Civil Service of the Federation.
The ministries located at the secretariat include The Ministry of Labour and Employment, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Information and Culture, the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Special Duties, the Ministry of Aviation, the Ministry of Youth and Sports Development, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Police Affairs and the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy.
Also affected were agencies at the Federal Capital Development Authority including the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
Employees of the ministry who had been vaccinated gained entry into the ministry’s building located at Area 11 in the Federal Capital Territory.
A Professor of Medical Virology, University of Maiduguri, Marycelin Baba, in an interview stated that barring unvaccinated visitors from government facilities might help to promote rate of vaccination among Nigerians. According to the expert, allowing unvaccinated visitors to the government facilities might endanger the lives of vaccinated workers.
But human right lawyer, Victor Giwa, said it was wrong of the government to make such a move, adding that medical issues are personal.
He said, “My position is that the issue of the medical status of any individual is personal. Telling anyone to present his or her vaccination card or PCR test is a breach of his own right to private life.” – Punch.
