Fact Check: Has UAE Lifted Visa Ban on Nigeria? 

Claims: following bilateral talks between Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu and President of the United Arab Emirate (UAE), His Highness Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity Ajuri Ngelale announced to Nigerian that Abu Dhabi has lifted the visa ban placed on Nigerian travellers after almost one year.

Full Text: the News which has been widely reported in Nigerian Mediasphere however drew controversy when curious observers pointed out the UAE did not mention the lifting of the ban in a statement it put out on its official website.

However, the statement from Nigerian Presidency not only announced that the ban has been lifted but further informed Nigerians that Etihad and Emirates Airlines would resume flight operations in Nigeria immediately.

“President Bola Tinubu and President of the United Arab Emirates, Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, on Monday in Abu Dhabi, have finalised a historic agreement, which has resulted in the immediate cessation of the visa ban placed on Nigerian travellers

“Furthermore, by this historic agreement, both Etihad Airlines and Emirates Airlines are to immediately resume flight schedules into and out of Nigeria, without any further delay,” the President’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, revealed in a statement he signed Monday.

Foreign media such as CNN and Bloomberg also reported the news, referencing the statement from the Nigerian Government.

Verification: PRNigeria fact-checkers deep dived into news sources from the UAE and it was discovered that while Nigerian and Forign media largely reported the lifting of the ban with reference to the statement from Nigerian Presidency, Dubai news platforms such as Gulf News and Emirates News mostly reported that that both Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu and UAE’s President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan who both met at Qasr Al Shati in Abu Dhabi discussed enhanced coorporation between both countries.

The report further revealed that UAE’s President further expressed his hope that the two leaders will work together to reinforce ties between the UAE and Nigeria for the benefit of both countries.

It emphasised that the UAE President and Nigerian President explored opportunities for further bilateral collaboration in areas that serve both countries’ sustainable economic growth, including the economic, development, energy, and climate action fields.

While all news sources sited mention that the two sides also exchanged views on a number of regional and international developments of interest, there was no mention about the lifting of ban.

PRNigeria fact checkers then dived into the official website of UAE’s Ministry of foreign affairs where it discovered that the statement by the foreign ministry corroborated reports as seen on UAE’s mediasphere.

PRNigeria fact checkers then contacted the foreign ministry on its hotline +97180044444 but the call kept dropping. It then attempted to use the foreign ministry’s website contact form to submit an inquiry seeking clarification about news making the round in Nigerian and Foreign Media.

It boycotted the process by using a contact in the United Kingdom to submit the inquiry after which we were informed it will be addressed within 5 working days.

To verify if Etihad and Emirates have resumed flight as stated in the release, PRNigeria fact checkers visited the official website of the airlines and attempted to book a flight.

When Nigeria was entered on Etihad, result revealed that there was no match for it.

However when several queries changing date and route between Nigeria and the UAE with a “flexible” schedule selected on Emirates, the same result appeared showing “There are no flights offered for the dates or route you selected,” kept recurring.

Conclusion: while official and news sources from the UAE remained silent on the lift on visa ban for Nigerians, Etihad and Emirates which are expected to resume flights from Nigeria to the UAE are yet to schedule any flight based on checks by PRNigeria fact checkers.

However, investigations are still ongoing with response to the inquiry sent still pending and direct inquiries to the UAE Embassy. Upon completion of this processes, PRNigeria will update readers on its Verdict.

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