Mohammed Idris, minister of information and national orientation, says Nigerians can now apply for and obtain visas to the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Idris said the federal government has reached 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 spoke with State House correspondents in Abuja on Monday, shortly after the weekly federal executive council (FEC) meeting.
He said the agreement includes updated controls and conditions to be fulfilled before the issuance of a UAE visa.
On December 13, 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.
However, TheCable reported the travel ban might not be unconnected with the diplomatic row between Nigeria and the UAE 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 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, signalling a resolution of the dispute.
The assurance followed a meeting between President Bola Tinubu and Mohamed bin Zayed, president of the UAE.
But since the meeting and the federal government’s announcement, Emirates has yet to begin scheduled flight operations.
In April, Festus Keyamo, minister of aviation and aerospace development, said Emirates Airlines is prepared to resume flight operations to Nigeria.
