airportThe Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, has refuted reports making the rounds about the outbreak of an epidemic at the Hajj/Cargo Terminal of the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos.
The rumour mill has been agog with reports that an outbreak of epidemic was imminent at the terminal due to the state of the toilet facilities at the airport.
But in a statement on Tuesday, signed by its Deputy General Manager, Corporate Communications, Onyekwere Nnaekpe, FAAN said the report was capable of creating fears in the minds of intending pilgrims, especially with the recent Ebola Virus Disease scare in the country.
He asserted that any pilgrim who was unsure of the state of the facilities at the terminal had the opportunity to cross-check such details as well as check their facts with the Corporate Communications Department or the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria.
The statement reads in parts, “The authority wishes to state that it is untrue that “the toilet facilities (at the terminal) have been left unclean over the weeks without lights at night.” There is no doubt that the 39 toilet facilities (not 12 as claimed by the report) provided at the terminal could be overstretched when used by an average of 500 pilgrims per flight for about two weeks, but it was uncharitable to say that these toilet facilities were not cleaned throughout this period.
“Relevant government agencies responsible for the airlift and welfare of pilgrims such as NAHCON could not have turned a blind eye to such a dangerous situation. We believe that officials of NAHCON, who work in collaboration with FAAN, are in a better position to make such complaints of ‘impending epidemic’ and not a supposed intending pilgrim who claimed that the dirty nature of the toilet facilities could lead to an epidemic in the area.
“We question the veracity of this claim because individual pilgrims can only approach the terminal authority with such complaints through officials of NAHCON or other relevant agencies who have unfettered access to officials of FAAN, some of whom are specially posted during Hajj operations to facilitate efficient service delivery, including a clean, secure and safe environment at the Hajj terminal, during this period.”
While stressing that necessary machinery had been put in place to ensure that all Hajj terminals across the country remained safe, secure and in good hygienic condition to effectively handle Hajj operations, FAAN posited, “we, therefore, consider any talk of impending outbreak of epidemic at any of our Hajj terminals as not only misleading but also malicious.”
Comentários