Presidency says Nigeria, UAE need to finalise agreements on visa ban lift

The Presidency says officials of the Federal Government and the authorities of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will work to finalise agreements on the purported removal of the visa ban imposed on Nigerians.

The Presidency had earlier announced that the UAE lifted its ban on Nigerian travellers during a meeting between President Bola Tinubu and his UAE counterpart, Sheik Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on Monday, September 11, 2023.

Announcing the development, the Special Assistant to President Tinubu on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, in a statement said the two leaders “finalized a historic agreement, which has resulted in the immediate cessation of the visa ban placed on Nigerian travellers.”

Surprisingly, the UAE, in its statement about the meeting neither confirmed nor denied the purported lifting of the ban on Nigerian travellers.

Rather, the statement said Nigeria and the UAE would work together to reinforce their ties and explore opportunities for further bilateral collaborations.

“The two leaders will work together to reinforce ties between the UAE and Nigeria for the benefit of both countries.”

“Explored opportunities for further bilateral collaboration in areas that serve both countries’ sustainable economic growth, including the economic, development, energy, and climate action fields,” the UAE said.

However, speaking about the issue on Tuesday, Ngelale said there’s a need for both the Nigerian government and the UAE authorities to work out finer details for the process to work itself out organically.

He said, “Given the agreement struck between the two Heads of State, there is need to allow cabinet officials from both sides to work out the finer details and finalize the cross-sectoral agreements. Everyone can now allow the process to work itself out organically, devoid of speculation.”

It would be recalled that in October 2022, the UAE stopped issuing visas to Nigerians. Subsequently, the Emirates, the country’s leading airline its operations in Nigeria.