According to 9am news nigeria, a deal was struck by the Federal Government and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), holders of Nigerian passports will be able to apply for visas to visit that Arab country as of today, July 15, 2024.
Following the weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting, Mohammed Idris, the Minister of Information, briefed State House media on Monday, 9am News reports.
The declaration was made more than two years after the UAE stopped issuing visas to Nigerians who apply due to diplomatic disagreements with the country that has the largest population in Africa.
It also occurs around two months after Emirates Airlines, the official airline of the United Arab Emirates, declared the start of new flights to Nigeria. The airline announced in May that it would start operating daily flights from Lagos to Dubai starting October 1, 2024.
In 2022 9am News Nigeria reported that Emirates Airlines halted its flights from Dubai to Lagos due to its incapacity to return cash that were embezzled in Nigeria during the height of the diplomatic spat between the two nations.
There has long been a history of flight restrictions between the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Nigeria due to outstanding concerns pertaining to the Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA). Later, as diplomatic tensions between Nigeria and the UAE—a popular destination for Nigerian visitors and migrants—grew, visa restrictions were revealed.
To iron out issues in their diplomatic ties, Ogasabi reported that President Bola Tinubu met with President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan of the United Arab Emirates in September 2023 in Abu Dhabi, 9am news nigeria reports.
