Aregbesola: Chinese medical team still in Nigeria despite expired visas

Rauf Aregbesola, minister of interior, says the Chinese medical team who arrived in Nigeria on April 8, are still within the country despite the expiration of their visas.

Speaking on Tuesday during the briefing of the presidential task force on COVID-19, Aregbesola said the team members were issued a 30-day visa in Beijing, China.

The minister, however, explained that they have been unable to return their country due to the restriction placed on air travels.

“Indeed 15 Chinese nationals came into Nigeria on the 8th of April,” he said.

“From everything we have heard and said, they were here on the bill of CCECC, a Chinese company working in Nigeria, doing some work for us in several places. And in conjunction with some Nigerian companies, they agreed to support us with efforts to respond to the pandemic.

“At Idu, they participated in retrofitting and equipping the isolation centre there. They equally worked on the dome project that was handled by the NNPC consortium in conjunction with THISDAY. Those are the location in which they came to work.

“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.”