DUBAI – The government of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is soon to lift the visa ban imposed against citizens from Nigeria, it emerged recently.
The development was confirmed by Nigeria’s Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo; the ban came into force in 2022 and affected scores of Nigerians who had to travel to the emirate for different purposes.
During a welcome dinner for delegates at the International Air Transport Association (IATA) 80th Annual General Meeting, the minister highlighted that the issue of visa ban has been resolved, and only the announcement has to be made.
‘They want to dot the I’s and cross the T’s. The announcement will be made in a couple of weeks,’ said the minister.
“Nigerians have a lot of stakes here in the UAE with a lot of investments. What we are doing is to make it easy for millions of Nigerians who have put a lot of pressure on us to ensure that we open up this route again,” he added.
As far as the history of the issue is concerned, the travel ban was imposed by the UAE due to diplomatic disputes, including issues with visa denials and a face-off with Emirates Airlines, which had suspended flights to Nigeria.
Nigerian authorities including President Bola Tinubu had started ramping up efforts last year to resolve these disputes.
In multiple media reports, it was revealed that a landmark deal had been made and the visa ba would be lifted; however, Emirati officials denied such claims in the past.
The official announcement regarding the lifting of the visa ban is expected to revive bilateral relations and increase trade and flight connectivity between the two countries.
The development follows an announcement by Emirates Airlines that it will resume flights to Nigeria starting 1 October.
