A Nigerian man broke down in tears as he narrated all he's been through in the hands of NCDC officials since arriving Nigeria. Ndubuisi Ekwulonu sa
A Nigerian man broke down in tears as he narrated all he’s been through in the hands of NCDC officials since arriving Nigeria.
Ndubuisi Ekwulonu said he left Sweden on September 9 and came into Nigeria on the 10th. Now that he’s trying to leave the country back to Sweden to resume his job and he said NCDC officials are frustrating him.
He explained that at the airport, FG informed them they’ll have to fill a form upon arrival for Covid-19 test. He chose the option to pay on arrival. When he arrived at Nnamdi Azikiwe airport in Abuja, he paid with his bank card and was debited N42, 750.
He said that he was given two lab options to carry out the Covid-19 test. He went to the address closest to him only to discover that it’s a plaza in Abuja, not a lab. He went to different places before finding the lab. To carry out the test, they had to receive confirmation of his payment, he explained. He said he waited the whole day and the next for his name to show up that he has paid so he can do the Covid-19 test. However, his name never came up. Two people on the same flight with him couldn’t find their names either.
He said NCDC officials asked that he pays another N42,759 for the test which he paid and the test was done. He stated that if he doesn’t do the test, he’ll be banned from leaving Nigeria and he needs to leave to start work on Monday. He said he is supposed to leave Nigeria on Saturday against his Monday resumption but he received another message before then stating he has to do another test again and pay a third time to get his Covid-19 result.
“We’re like two hundred and something passengers on that flight and everybody paid this money,” he lamented after paying multiple times for Covid-19 tests without seeing his result.
Crying, the man vowed not to return to Nigeria if he leaves because of how Nigerians are treated in their own country.
“The stress is too much. The stress I’ve passed through since one week I’m in Nigeria. You can’t imagine it. It’s not good. We have a bad name abroad, if you’re coming to your country, you’ll still face a bad name. It’s not good. Still the test, they can’t upload it on their system. And if I’m leaving on Saturday and I didn’t show on the system, they’ll ban me from leaving Nigeria.”
He continued crying as he explained that he is at risk of losing his job if he doesn’t leave the country on time. He said his job was hard getting and NCDC officials are trying to make him lose it by refusing to release his Covid-19 test result.
“How can I lose my job just because I came into Nigeria. My problem is not about the money. My problem is when I’m leaving Nigeria, they might ban me not to leave.”
Ndubuisi, who was in tears, lamented the difficulty in securing a job as a Nigerian in Sweden. He said there are about 5,700 employees where he works, but 5,000 were sacked.
“And I was among those retained. It took me time to get this job because I am a Nigerian. Even a Rwandan will get a job before you and these are people you know, in every aspect of life, you are better than them. Just because you are carrying a Nigerian passport, to get a job will be hard, so how can I lose my job because I came into Nigeria?” he lamented as he burst into tears.
Other Nigerians also poured out their heart as they narrated their experience in the country.
NCDC boss, Chikwe Ihekweazu reacted to the video. He wrote: “We note challenges faced by Nigerian in video- a result of miscommunication btwn him & a private lab Govt & private agencies are working hard to make system work to prevent spike in #COVID19 cases in [Nigeria]. 1M people dead 95% of people have traveled w/o hitches We #keeppushing.”
However, later on Tuesday, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), in a tweet, said Ndubuisi had been refunded.
Remember Ndubuisi Ekwulonu (in video below)? The Nigerian from Sweden, who after paying N42,750 for COVID-19 test at the airport was made to pay another N42,750 at the laboratory.
We took up his matter & he has been refunded. See his appreciation letter in tweet #2.
THREAD! pic.twitter.com/98PLttLa2J
— FCCPC Nigeria (@fccpcnigeria) September 29, 2020
