Ajuri Ngelale, President Bola Tinubu's spokesman, stated this on Monday evening, cautioning that the lifting of the visa ban on Nigerians by the UAE did not mean that things would go back to how they were, especially as it concerned UAE visa applications and processing
The Nigerian government has said that “diligence will be done” concerning visa applications to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) after the Middle East country lifted visa ban on Nigeria since October 2022.
Ajuri Ngelale, President Bola Tinubu's spokesman, stated this on Monday evening, cautioning that the lifting of the visa ban on Nigerians by the UAE did not mean that things would go back to how they were, especially as it concerned UAE visa applications and processing
Speaking on Channels TV programme, Ngelale claimed that Nigerians giving the country a bad reputation abroad are the main reason for the visa ban in the first place.
He said, “Every agreement comes with mutual responsibility. There is no free lunch. What I mean by that is the notion that floodgates will open up and we go back to business as usual. That is not what Nigerians should expect. I want to be very clear about this so that everybody can understand.”
He continued: “one of the major challenges of the bilateral relationship with regards to visa applications, visa processing and with respect to Nigerians being able to migrate to the UAE for example, was the fact that there was a laxity on the part of certain visa process or certain applications that were being made that it created a lack of specificity and lack of diligent evaluation with respect to who is travelling to the UAE and why they are travelling.
“And this is why we had issues; just a few bad eggs among our people giving a bad name to all of us which was a major sticking point as to how we got to this point. So, what we have done as part of this process is to put in place measures to ensure there is effective diligence done on the part of both sides.”
SaharaReporters had reported that the UAE in Abu Dhabi ordered the lifting of the visa ban placed on Nigerian travellers.
The removal of the embargo followed negotiations between the presidents of Nigeria and the UAE, according to a statement from the Nigerian presidency.