Nigerians should not expect business as usual – Ajuri Ngelale dismisses claims Nigerians can start flying to the UAE immediately

Ajuri Ngelali, the Special Adviser to President Tinubu on media and publicity, has emphasized that the recent lifting of the visa ban on Nigerians by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) should not be interpreted as a return to normalcy, particularly regarding UAE visa applications and processing.

President Tinubu’s visit to UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on Monday, September 11, resulted in the UAE government swiftly reversing the visa ban on Nigerians. This announcement generated excitement among many Nigerians, with some already planning their trips to the UAE.

During an interview with Channels TV, Ajuri highlighted that every agreement involves mutual responsibilities, underscoring the absence of free benefits in such arrangements.

“Every agreement comes with mutual responsibility. There is no free lunch. What I mean by that is the notion that floodgates will open up and we go back to business as usual. That is not what Nigerians should expect. I want to be very clear about this so that everybody can understand. 

One of the major challenges of the bilateral relationship with regards to visa applications, visa processing, and with respect to Nigerians being able to migrate to the UAE for example, was the fact that there was a laxity on the part of certain visa processes or certain applications that were being made that it created a lack of specificity and lack of diligent evaluation with respect to who is travelling to the UAE and why they are travelling.

And this is why we had issues. Just a few bad eggs among our people giving a bad name to all of us which was a major sticking point as to how we got to this point. So, what we have done as part of this process is to put in place measures to ensure there is effective diligence done on the part of both sides.”