The presidency said the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has not lifted the visa restriction on Nigerians.
Bayo Onanuga, the special adviser on information and strategy to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, made this known on Tuesday.
In a statement via his X account, Onanuga clarified the document announcing the restriction has been lifted was not authorised by the Nigerian and UAE governments.
“UAE has not resumed visa issuance to Nigerians. The document in circulation is not authorized either by the Nigerian government or the UAE,” Onanuga said.
Onanuga’s statement followed a document he shared earlier on X, which said UAE has lifted the ban on visa applications from Nigerians two years after a diplomatic row.
In October 2022, the UAE implemented a ban on citizens from approximately 20 African nations from entering its borders.
Among the affected countries are Nigeria, Uganda, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Cameroon, Liberia, Burundi, Republic of Guinea, Gambia, Togo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Senegal, Benin, Ivory Coast, Congo, Rwanda, Burkina Faso, Guinea Bissau, Comoros, and the Dominican Republic.
The Emirati authorities issued a notice to trade partners and travel agents, instructing them to reject all applications.
Since the ban, the UAE and Nigeria have been embroiled in a diplomatic dispute concerning flight allocations and travel restrictions.
The row was over Air Peace’s flight frequency to the Arab country.
Air Peace had requested a slot of three weekly flights from Nigeria to Sharjah Airport in UAE, but only one was granted by the country’s General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA).
GCAA said Air Peace should not expect to retain its flight frequency after pulling out of Sharjah Airport — the Nigerian airline, however, denied the claim.
In retaliation to Air Peace’s treatment in UAE, the federal government dropped Emirate’s slots from 21 to one — leading to the Dubai-based airline suspending all its flights to Nigeria.
Meanwhile, on September 11, 2023, the federal government said UAE had lifted its visa ban on Nigerian travellers, however, on September 15, last year, an official of the Arab country said the restriction was still in place.
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