The UAE has denied claims by the Nigerian government that it will relax a year-long visa ban on Nigerian travelers.
“There have been no changes in the Nigeria/UAE travel status so far,” a Gulf state official told CNN.
The person requested anonymity since he is not permitted to speak to the media.
The UAE announced in October that it will no longer issue visas to nationals of Nigeria and 19 other African countries. It didn’t go into any greater information. A 30-day tourist visa was quite straightforward to obtain until the UAE abruptly stopped providing them to Nigerian nationals.
Flights between the two nations were halted last year after Dubai’s Emirates airline ceased operations in Nigeria, claiming stranded revenues.
The airline claimed it was unable to access and repatriate $85 million in funds kept in Nigeria.
For many years, the emirate of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates has been a popular tourist destination for Nigerians.
Nigerian President Bola Tinubu met with UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan earlier this week in Abu Dhabi, when both men “finalized a historic agreement,” according to a statement provided by the Nigerian administration.
The deal, according to the administration, paves the way for the easing of the visa ban, as well as the immediate resumption of flights between the two nations.
“Furthermore, by this historic agreement, both Etihad Airlines and Emirates Airlines are to immediately resume flight schedules into and out of Nigeria, without any further delay,” Nigeria’s presidential spokesman Ajuri Ngelale said in a statement.
However, the UAE government later stated that during the meeting, both presidents “explored opportunities for further bilateral collaboration” with the hope of “reinforcing ties between the UAE and Nigeria,” but did not mention easing the visa ban or resuming flights.
In a subsequent statement, Nigerian government spokesman Ngelale contradicted his earlier statement by saying that authorities from both nations required more time to negotiate agreement specifics.
“Given the agreement reached by the two Heads of State, it is necessary to allow cabinet officials from both sides to work out the finer details and finalize the cross-sectoral agreements,” he said, adding that “everyone can now allow the process to work itself out organically, free of speculation.”
A playground for the affluent
When it was reported that the visa prohibition had been abolished, there was ecstasy among Nigerians.
Thousands of Nigerian travelers visit Dubai each year. It is also a sanctuary for domestic real-estate investors.
Prior to the pandemic, Nigerians were among Dubai’s greatest foreign real-estate investors, with roughly $2 billion in assets, according to local media sources citing the Dubai Land Department.
Prior to the prohibition, Emirates Airlines operated two daily flights from Lagos, Nigeria, to Dubai, as well as one daily trip from Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, to Dubai.
CNN