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ABUJA. – The Nigeria Government has commenced the enforcement of mandatory vaccination against Covid-19 for all civil servants.

The enforcement comes amid fears of the new Omicron coronavirus variant.

At the gate of the federal secretariat in Abuja crowds of people were locked out of their offices as they were asked to present proof of their vaccinations.

The civil servants were asked to submit PCR test results that were not more than 72 hours old as an alternative before being allowed access.

A vaccination stand had been set up close to the secretariat main gate for those who were willing to get vaccinated.

The Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) says it has detected the Omicron variant in travellers from South Africa who arrived in Nigeria last week.

The organisation says its research suggests that given the likely high transmissibility of the variant, it is imperative to introduce measures to curb community transmission like “increased COVID-19 testing”.  Meanwhile, Canada has banned travellers from more African countries including Nigeria over fears of the spread of the new Covid variant. – BBCworld