Prof. Akin Abayomi, the Lagos State Commissioner for Health on Wednesday reportedly hurriedly hurried into his vehicle and sped off during a face- off with Dubai returnees who staged a protest at a hotel in Lekki where they are being isolated, the Punch and Daily Times have reported.
According to the report, the health commissioner who was dressed in a suit and red tie, arrived the hotel used as isolation centre in a black Sports Utility Vehicle on Wednesday afternoon.
Trouble however started when the returnees accused the commissioner of telling the press on Tuesday that one of them died of COVID- 19 while he actually died of government neglect.
According to a returnee, the deceased returnee that died had medical surgery in Dubai and he returned in a wheelchair to Nigeria.
He said that instead of promptly taking him to a hospital as he was obviously in critical condition, he was kept in the isolation centre with the remaining returnees for two days where his condition got worse. Eventually when he was then taken to a hospital, he died.
However, when challenged, the health commissioner said that he was misquoted by the media. This made the returnees to bring out their phones, asking that they record the admittance of the commissioner that the dead returnee did not died of COVID-19. The commissioner however refused to be recorded.
Tensions heightened more when the health commissioner in Lagos state announced that the government would be administering a test on all the returnees. The Dubai returnees were said to have refused saying that their welfare must first be improved on.
The returnees claimed that the quality of food being given to them was unfit for human consumption. They said that while voicing their concern, the health commissioner ran away.
One of the returnee who witnessed the incident was quoted to narrate the protest leading to the commissioner running away as saying “As we were voicing our concerns, he ran away! We asked him a simple question! Why we can’t record him if he is sincere ? We are being treated like we are in Nazi Germany?”
Recall that about 256 evacuated Nigerians arrived in Lagos State from the United Arab Emirates on 6th of May , 2020, arriving via the Murtala Muhammed International Airport , Lagos through an Emirates Airline.
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