Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, has said Nigerians can now apply for and get visas to the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Idris disclosed that the Federal Government has struck an agreement with the UAE, to allow Nigerian passport holders to obtain visas for travel to the Arab nation starting today, July 15.
The minister revealed this on Monday, while briefing State House correspondents in Abuja, after the weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting.
According to him, the agreement includes updated controls and conditions to be fulfilled before the issuance of a UAE visa.
In 2021, the UAE issued a travel restriction on passengers from Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, citing a surge in the countries’ COVID-19 cases among passengers from the two African nations.
Air Peace had requested a slot of three weekly flights from Nigeria to Sharjah Airport in the 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 for Air Peace’s treatment in the UAE, the federal government dropped Emirate’s slots from 21 to one, leading to the Dubai-based airline suspending all its flights to Nigeria.
In September 2023, the federal government said the airline would resume services in Nigeria, signaling a resolution of the dispute.
The assurance followed a meeting between President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Mohamed bin Zayed, president of the United Arab Emirates.
