NIGERIA’s new President, Bola Tinubu, wants an immediate resolution concerning the strained ties between the African country and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) amid a long history of limiting flights between the two nations due to unresolved disputes.
The UAE suspended the issuance of visas to Nigerians in retaliation to Lagos’s retention of funds owed to the Emirates and over the West African nation’s policy to block the repatriation of foreign currency, including other issues.
In October 2022, the UAE banned nationals of Nigeria and a few other African countries from entering Dubai.
Despite the ban, theUnited Arab Emirates has invested $225.1m in Nigeria’s economy.
Reports also indicate that some wealthy Nigerians have made considerable investments in the UAE, especially in real estate.
Tinubu said he is willing to personally intervene in solving the conflict between the countries and called UAE and Nigeria a family.
He emphasized that the two countries should agree on resolving core aviation and immigration issues. He ordered the dispute over Emirates Airlines and the issuance of visas to Nigerian nationals to be immediately resolved.
Tinubu seeks diplomatic resolution at a time when BRICS leaders invited the UAE to be part of the group. Nigeria, on the other hand, was not invited to be part of BRICS— a grouping of major emerging economies comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.
