In contrast to the claims made by the federal government regarding the removal of visa restrictions for Nigerian travelers to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the UAE has firmly denied such assertions.
According to a recent report by CNN, a UAE official has verified that the visa ban on Nigerians remains in effect.
The report states, "There are no changes on the Nigeria/UAE travel status so far." The source from the UAE chose to remain anonymous, citing a lack of authorization to speak to the media.
This contradicts the statement issued earlier in the week by Ajuri Ngelale, the presidential spokesperson, who had announced that the UAE had lifted the visa ban following a meeting between President Bola Tinubu and UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Abu Dhabi.
Ngelale had also indicated that both Emirates and Etihad Airlines were set to swiftly resume flight operations in Nigeria.
During the closing ceremony of the 7th African Aviation Summit in Abuja, Festus Keyamo, the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, had previously revealed that the government was in the final stages of facilitating the resumption of flight operations between the two nations.
It's worth noting that in October of the year 2022, UAE immigration authorities formally announced the suspension of visa application processing for Nigerian citizens. A month later, Emirates Airlines suspended its flight operations to Nigeria for the second time in that year, primarily due to difficulties in repatriating $85 million in revenue trapped within the country.