The United Arab Emirates has refuted assertions made by the government of Nigeria that it will ease a one-year visa ban on Nigerian travellers.
“There are no changes on the Nigeria/UAE travel status so far,” an official who spoke on the condition of anonymity told CNN
Last October, the UAE said in a notification that it would no longer grant visas to nationals of Nigeria and 19 other African countries. No other information was given. Prior to the UAE suddenly ceasing to grant visas to citizens of Nigeria, obtaining a 30-day tourist visa was rather simple.
As a result of Dubai’s Emirates Airline suspending operations in Nigeria due to trapped income, flights between the two nations were halted last year.
The carrier said it could not access and repatriate its funds amounting to $85 million withheld in Nigeria.
Earlier this week, Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu met with UAE leader Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Abu Dhabi where both men “finalized a historic agreement,” 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.
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