Aidoghie Paulinus, Abuja
What is the duration of the visa issued the Chinese medical team by the Federal Government? Thirty days? Three months? The controversy is getting messier by the day.
The Embassy of China in Nigeria, yesterday, faulted claim by the Federal Government that a 30-days visa was issued to the Chinese experts who arrived the country on April 8.
Responding to Daily Sun’s enquiry, Press Officer of the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Nigeria, Mr. Sun Saixiong, said the Chinese team was issued a three-month visa in Beijing by the Nigerian government.
Saixiong’s statement clearly negated that of the Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, who while responding to a question at the daily Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 briefing on Tuesday, had explained that the Chinese were issued a 30-day visa.
“Fifteen of them came in on April 8. They came on a 30-day visa issued in Beijing, but they are still here. They are still here not because they have not completed their job, but because there is a restriction on travels in Nigeria occasioned by the COVID-19 protocols,” Aregbesola said.
Although Saixiong said the Embassy was not involved in the medical team’s job, but had always been supportive of Chinese companies in the discharge of their corporate social responsibilities in Nigeria, he was emphatic that the Chinese medical team was issued a three-month visa.
An official of CCECC also disclosed that the visas of the medical team were extended before expiration, while also defending their continuous stay in the country.
Saixiong, however, corroborated the view by the Interior Minister that the team could not return home because of the global restrictions on air transportation, but added that the three months visa issued them allowed their legitimate stay in Nigeria.
“On why the team is not back yet? I think Mr. Jiang Yigao, Managing Director of the CCECC, has made it very clear to the media. Right now, commercial flights to China are not open yet, but when the flights are open again, we are considering the team going back to China. We heard they were issued three-month visa, so there shouldn’t be any problem,” he said.
On the identity of the medical personnel, he replied: “The question is self-explanatory. I believe there is a reason that they are called the medical team. They are what should a medical team consists of; medics and technicians. Who else could they be?”
However, the response of the CCECC contradicted the position of the Embassy regarding the true identity of the medical team.
An official of the company who responded to Daily Sun’s enquiry on condition of anonymity said there were no technicians amongst them, but doctors and nurses.
The official also disclosed that the visas of the medical team have been extended before expiration, while also defending their continuous stay in the country.
“Absolutely, they are medical doctors and nurses. How can we bring technicians this time around, knowing that the lockdown has affected our project?
“Their visa has been extended before expiration. You can go and find out from immigration. They can’t stay here illegally.
“They came with the chartered flight because of the medical supplies, which means we provided charted flight for the medical supplies. They just came with the plane. If you talk about sending 15 persons to China with another chartered flight considering the long distance, you need a big plane. It is not proper. We thought the international flight would have reopened. But now, let us wait for the announcement from Ministry of Aviation,” the official said.
The Chinese team arrived in Nigeria on April 8 “to share their experiences in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic,” Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire, had said.
Although some Nigerians and medical associations kicked against the decision to invite the medical experts, the government went ahead to bring them aboard a chartered Air Peace aircraft.
However, in recent weeks, their whereabouts have sparked controversy, especially when Ehanire requested reporters not to bother his ministry about them. In fact, at one of the PTF briefing, Ehanire, who was at the forefront of the campaign to have the Chinese in Nigeria to assist the government curb the COVID-19 pandemic, had reversed himself by saying the medical personnel were not guests of the Federal Government but of the construction firm, CCECC.