Moses Ofodeme
The Canadian authorities have turned back a Nigerian Carrier detailed to help in evacuation of stranded Nigerians in that country.
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Geoffrey Onyeama, said on Thursday that Canada denied the Nigerian carrier landing rights for a scheduled evacuation of Nigerians.
The minister, however, said that further diplomatic negotiations were ongoing on the matter.
Onyeama confirmed the development during the daily briefing by the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID- 19 in Abuja.
“It is true the Canadian Government denied landing rights to a Nigerian carrier scheduled for an evacuation duty, on grounds that the airline does not have a licence to undertake commercial flights to Canada.
“Our high commission is engaging with Canadian Government on this issue,” he said.
The minister said that Nigeria’s high commissioner to Canada was arguing that the airline was not a regular commercial flight but an emergency evacuation flight.
“Negotiations are ongoing with the Canadian Government,” he added.