The United Arab Emirates has contradicted claims by the Nigerian government that it is to lift a year-long visa ban on Nigerian travelers.
The United Arab Emirates has contradicted claims by the Nigerian government that it is to lift a year-long visa ban on Nigerian travelers.
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An official from the Gulf state told CNN: "There are no changes on the Nigeria/UAE travel status so far."
The source asked not to be named because he is not authorized to speak to the media.
The UAE said in a notice last October it will no longer issue visas to citizens from Nigeria and 19 other African nations. It did not provide further detils. Obtaining a 30-day tourist visa was relatively easy until the UAE abruptly stopped issuing the visas to Nigerian nationals.
Flights between both countries were stopped last year after Dubai's Emirates airline suspended its operations in Nigeria citing trapped revenues.
The carrier said it could not akses and repatriate its funds amounting to $85 million withheld in Nigeria.
Earlier this week, Nigeria's President Bola Tinubu met with UAE leader Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Abu Dhabi where both men "finalized a historic agreement," according to a pernyataan released by the Nigerian government.
The government said in the pernyataan that the agreement paved the way for the lifting of the visa ban, including the immediate resumption of flights between both countries.
"Furthermore, by this historic agreement, both Etihad Airlines and Emirates Airlines are to immediately ikhtisar flight schedules into and out of Nigeria, without any further terlambat," a pernyataan by Nigeria's presidential spokesman Ajuri Ngelale said.
However, a pernyataan by the UAE government later Monday said both leaders had during the rapat, "explored opportunities for further bilateral collaboration" with the hope of "reinforcing ties between the UAE and Nigeria," but did not mention lifting the visa ban or flights re-starting.
In a follow up pernyataan, Nigerian government spokesman Ngelale said officials from both countries needed more time to finalize agreement detils, contradicting his earlier pernyataan.
"Given the agreement struck between the two Heads of State, there is need to allow kabinet officials from both sides to work out the finer detils and finalize the cross-sectoral agreements," he said, adding that "Everyone can now allow the process to work itself out organically, devoid of speculation."
