- Kazeem Badmus
An official of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Friday contradicted claims by the Nigerian government that it is to lift a year-long visa ban on Nigerian travellers.
The official from the Gulf state told CNN โThere are no changes on the Nigeria/UAE travel status so far.”
The official asked not to be named because he is not authorised to speak to the media.
OSUN DEFENDER reports that the UAE last October, said in a notice that it will no longer issue visas to citizens from Nigeria and 19 other African nations.
However, earlier this week, Nigeriaโs President Bola Tinubu met with UAE leader Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Abu Dhabi where both men โfinalized a historic agreement,โ according to a statement released by the Nigerian government.
The government said in the statement that the agreement paved the way for the lifting of the visa ban, including the immediate resumption of flights between both countries.
A statement by Nigeriaโs presidential spokesman Ajuri Ngelale said, โFurthermore, by this historic agreement, both Etihad Airlines and Emirates Airlines are to immediately resume flight schedules into and out of Nigeria, without any further delay.”
However, a statement by the UAE government later Monday said both leaders had during the meeting, โexplored opportunities for further bilateral collaborationโ with the hope of โreinforcing ties between the UAE and Nigeria,โ but did not mention lifting the visa ban or flights restarting.
Yusuf Oketola is a trained journalist with over five years of experience in the media industry. He has worked for both print and online medium. He is a thorough-bred professional with an eye of hindsight on issues bothering on social justice, purposeful leadership, and a society where the leaders charge and work for the prosperityย ofย theย people.
