UAE denies allegations of travel ban on Nigerians

Chinazor Megbolu   |  

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) embassy in Abuja had denied the allegations of restricting Nigerians from  entering  the country  which it said was making rounds in the social media.

The embassy on Thursday issued a statement denouncing  the comments by a Twitter user, @Drewbaba on August 2, 2020 which  claimed the UAE had suspended different categories of visa to Nigerians after it arrested Hushpuppi for alleged fraud.

The UAE embassy in the statement further noted that Nigeria is among the countries that it allowed entry after easing restrictions to fight Covid-19.

“In response to recent press and social media reports regarding purported travel restrictions between the UAE and Nigeria, and in an affirmation of the growing bilateral relations between the two friendly countries, the UAE Embassy in Abuja denies the accuracy of the information contained in these reports.

“At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the UAE took a number of precautionary measures to combat the virus’ spread, including the temporary suspension on issuing UAE visas for all nationalities as of March 17, 2020.

“After entering the recovery phase of the pandemic, the UAE eased some measures on July 7, permitting visitors from various countries to adhere to the necessary precautionary measures, including by showing negative PCR test results within 92 hours of travelling to the UAE. This includes those visiting from Nigeria,” the statement said.

The statement, however, maintained that travel between the UAE and Nigeria has remained limited owing to the closure of Nigeria’s airspace.

According to the statement; “the UAE Embassy in Abuja continues to work closely with the Nigerian Government to obtain the necessary approvals to facilitate travel between the two countries”.