Foreigners are leaving Nigeria over Coronavirus to access medical facilities they are used to – Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama has revealed why some foreigners have left Nigeria in the last few days over Coronavirus outbreak in the country. 

Responding to questions at the Presidential Task Force briefing on COVID-19 in Abuja on Friday April 3, Onyeama stated that foreigners leaving Nigeria does not necessarily have anything to do with the nation’s healthcare system, but with them accessing medical practioners and facilities they are used to. 

He said

“I think the foreigners who are leaving, whether there is something they know that we don’t know, I think it is a lot more innocent than that,” the ministers told reporters at the briefing.

“It is basically a case where people are more familiar with the health systems in their various countries and so prefer to go to the various countries so in the event that they might have to be confined, they will be in more familiar surroundings.

“And they will also have access to the medical practitioners that they are used to and, of course, facilities that they are used to. So that’s really the reason.”

Onyeama added that countries whose citizens have been evacuated still have their ambassadors, heads of missions, and other staff in Nigeria who have no plans of leaving.