First Domestic flight Covid-19 Suspect: DSTV boss down with illness after flying in to Abuja to face House panel; contact tracing begins

Nigeria might have got its first post-lockdown Covid-19 spread in domestic flight less than two weeks after it re-opened its airspace.

Multichoice CEO John Ugbe flew in to Abuja Tuesday to face the House committee investigating non-implementation of the pay-as-you go tariff by the satellite broadcasters and DSTV.

But Ugbe was unable to show up before the panel. He wrote the houe a letter stating he came down with an illness after he arrived Abuja Tuesday night.

“Because of the abundance of caution needed to be taken in line with the current pandemic, we believe it is necessary that the meeting be deferred until he has regained his health and is cleared by his medical doctor, ” his letter, signed by Gozie Onumonon, head of regulatory affairs, read in part.

The House of Representatives then ordered the NCDC Director-General Ihekweazu Chikwe to fish out the sick CEO, test him for covid-19, and trace out all his contacts since he arrived Abuja.

There were fears before the federal government lifted the ban imposed on domestic flight that the covid-19 virus spreading across communities might be escalated if control protocols are not duly observed.