Nigeria’s Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has met his counterpart in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, over the diplomatic row between the two nations.
In a post via his verified X page on Monday night, Keyamo said he met the UAE Aviation minister on the sidelines of discussions between President Bola Tinubu and UAE President, Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, over the visa ban imposed on Nigerian travellers.
He wrote: “Earlier today, I engaged my counterpart in charge of Aviation in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on the sidelines of discussions by both Presidents before the breakthrough in negotiations.”
OsunDailyNG recalls that since 2021, UAE and Nigeria have been engaging in a diplomatic row over issues involving flight allocations and travel bans.
In December 2021, the UAE banned airlines from airlifting Nigerian passengers into the Emirates. The UAE had claimed that the ban was due to the surge in COVID-19 cases.
Before the travel ban, UAE’s General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) had approved a slot of three weekly flights from Nigeria to Sharjah Airport. The single flight was approved for Air Peace.
In retaliation to the UAE’s treatment of Air Peace, the federal government dropped the Emirates’ slots from 21 to one.
The move made the Dubai-based airline suspend all its flights to Nigeria. In October 2022, the UAE imposed a visa ban on Nigerians after a diplomatic row.
However, on Monday, the UAE lifted the visa ban imposed on Nigerian travellers after an agreement between the two nations.
