Nigeria regrets travel restrictions to curb Omicron variant, says it disrupted business

The Nigerian government said the travel restrictions enforced to curb the spread of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 had no health benefit.

The Director General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Dr Ifedayo Adetifa stated that the restrictions impacted negatively on individuals and businesses.

“Recent experience in Nigeria with the arrival of omicron showed travel restrictions did not have any public health benefits but were disruptive for persons and businesses. COVID-19 has and continues to follow a different course (epidemiology in Nigeria and most of Africa),” Adetifa tweeted.

Following a meeting of the NCDC COVID-19 National Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) held on Saturday, Adetifa said the EOC would continue to review the ongoing COVID-19 situation in the coming week.

He expressed confidence that the Nigerian population is significantly protected from a combination of natural infection and vaccination but hinted that there will be changes in government approach if the need arises.

“At the next review and if deemed necessary, a range of actions, not limited to enhanced surveillance of travellers at airports, may be implemented,” Adetifa said.

He advised Nigerians to make use of every opportunity the government has provided via to get vaccinated and urged citizens to receive their primary vaccination which can be two or a single vaccine dose.

“If you have received two vaccine doses already, go get your booster,” Adetifa said.

“If you have received one booster dose already, please go get your second booster dose. If you belong in any of the high-risk categories (old age, etc), kindly ensure you adhere to recommended public health safety measures – mask use, hand hygiene and avoiding crowded spaces.”

By Dennis Erezi, The Guardian

Related story: Video - Nigerian airlines see demand as the recovery gathers momentum

Nigeria removes COVID-19 testing for international travellers

Nigeria on Monday removed COVID-19 testing requirements for international travellers and it was no longer mandatory to wear masks on flights and inside airport buildings, the airlines regulator said.

In a notice to airlines, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority said travellers to and from Nigeria did not need to undergo COVID-19 irrespective of their vaccination status.

The authority said travellers above 60 years and those with comorbidities were encouraged to use face masks.

Nigeria has recorded 266,381 COVID-19 cases since the start of the pandemic and 3,155 deaths. 

By MacDonald Dzirutwe, Reuters

2 Stowaways from Nigeria on Ship's rudder to be deported from Spain

Two of three stowaways who were rescued in Spain's Canary Islands after enduring 11 days on the rudder of a fuel tanker from Nigeria have been returned to the ship with the aim of deporting them.

The third person, who suffered hypothermia and dehydration during the voyage, has not yet been released from hospital on Gran Canaria, a local government spokesperson said. Under Spanish law, any stowaway who does not seek asylum must be returned by the operator of the ship to the port where the journey originated, a police spokesman told Reuters.

In a photograph on Twitter by the Spanish coast guard on Monday, the three stowaways are shown hunkered on the rudder under the hull, just above the waterline of the Alithini II.

The 183-metre ship, sailing under a Maltese flag, arrived in Las Palmas in Gran Canaria after setting out from Lagos in Nigeria on Nov. 17 and navigating up the West African coast, according to Marine Traffic.

The ship's captain confirmed to the Red Cross that it had sailed from Nigeria 11 days earlier.


A Canary Islands police spokesperson said it was up to the ship's operator to take care of the stowaways, provide them with temporary accommodation and return them to their origin as soon as possible.

The migrants should, at the least, have been informed of their right to ask for political asylum and should have been questioned before being returned to the ship, said Helena Maleno, director of the migration non-governmental organisation, Walking Borders. "The conditions of the journey are already an indication that something very serious may be behind it because the photos are incredible. We have never seen conditions like this where they have arrived alive," Maleno said.

She added: "These people have to be in a state of shock. They need a couple of days to recover and from there they can explain what they were running from to have made that decision."

Alithini II, owned by Gardenia Shiptrade SA, is managed by Athens-based Astra Ship Management, according to public shipping database Equasis.

Astra Ship Management did not respond to multiple calls from Reuters seeking comment. The Spanish government's representative on the Canary Islands didn't immediately respond to a query on whether the migrants should have been informed of their rights.

The coast guard said the migrants were rescued by a coast guard vessel at about 7 p.m. local time (1900 GMT) on Monday.

The stowaways were treated for moderate dehydration and hypothermia, the Canary Islands emergency services and the Red Cross said. The third migrant, who was in a more serious state, had to be taken to a different hospital on the island.

The Spanish-owned Canary Islands are a popular but dangerous gateway for African migrants attempting to reach Europe. Since 2014, 2,976 migrants have died or are missing after attempting to cross from Africa to the archipelago by sea, according to the International Organization for Migration.

Reuters, by Emma Pinedo

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3 Stowaways Travel from Nigeria to Canary Islands on Ship's rudder for 11 days

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Three stowaways travelling for 11 days on a ship’s rudder were rescued by the Spanish coastguard and hospitalised in the Canary Islands, Spanish authorities have said.

The large ship had departed from Lagos, Nigeria on November 17, according to ship-tracking website Marine Traffic, and the men were rescued on Monday.

Found on the Alithini II oil tanker at the Las Palmas port, the men appeared to have symptoms of dehydration and hypothermia and were transferred to hospitals on the island for medical attention, Spain’s Salvamento Marítimo said.

Throughout the journey, at least three migrants and refugees had been hanging onto the narrow metallic rudder, with their feet dangling just a few feet above the Atlantic Ocean.

In a photograph Spain’s coastguard distributed on Twitter on Monday, the three men are seen perched on the rudder of the oil tanker.

The coastguard said they rescued the stowaways after the tanker had docked.

Though extremely dangerous, it is not the first time stowaways have been found travelling on the rudder of commercial ships to the Canary Islands, which is located around 97km (60 miles) off the coast of Morocco.

In late 2020, Spanish authorities identified six others travelling from Nigeria on the rudders of two tankers.

One of those who arrived in 2020 was a 14-year-old boy who narrated his harrowing two-week journey to the Spanish daily El Pais.

He described how the stowaways had to take turns sleeping because there was enough space for only one person to lie down at a time; how there was a fight and he was nearly thrown off the rudder; how they got cold and wet and it would take hours to dry off; how his urine turned green after drinking seawater.

In a tweet, migration adviser to the Canary Islands, Txema Santana, warned that the most recent arrivals “won’t be the last” and that “stowaways don’t always have the same luck”.

The migration route from West Africa to Spain’s Canary Islands is one of the most dangerous in the world.

In September, Santana estimated that about 1,000 migrants and refugees had died or disappeared trying to reach the Spanish archipelago this year.

As of November 15, nearly 15,000 migrants and refugees have made it to the Canary Islands by sea this year, down 18 percent from the same time in 2021, according to Spain’s Interior Ministry. Most make the long journey from West Africa on small rafts, a growing number of which are inflatable.

Al Jazeera

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Stressed out middle class Nigerians want out of Nigeria

Frustrated Nigerians 'flee' abroad in punishing pre-election brain drain

Nigerians with expired passports now allowed to travel back to Nigeria

The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) on Tuesday said that Nigerians in diaspora with expired passport would no longer require visas to visit home.

The Service, however, stated that they must show their expired Nigeria’s passport to ensure they were truly from Nigeria.

Mr Tony Akuneme, the NIS Public Relations Officer, disclosed this in an interview with Newsmen in Abuja.

Akuneme was reacting to inquiries about the new visa policy of the Federal Government which said that Nigerians with dual citizenship don’t need visa to visit home.

“The statu of the new policy is that Nigerians with dual citizenship are free to come to Nigeria but with their Nigeria passport even if it’s expired.

“You have to show that you are a Nigerian, that is why we say they can come with their expired passport. Dual citizenship means carrying two passports.

“Unlike before that when your passport is expired you will not be allowed to come to the country, now we can allow them to travel in with their expired Nigeria passport”, he said.

Akuneme further explained that although the essence was to allow them return home, they will be required to renew the passport before returning to their destinations.

“The whole essence is that when they arrive, they must renew their Nigeria passport before going back,” the NIS spokesman added. 

Vanguard

UAE 'bans entry' to all Nigerian citizens

The UAE has reportedly banned Nigerian citizens from entering the country, according to trading partners.

Immigration authorities in Dubai announced on Friday that new visa applications for Nigerian citizens will be rejected and current applications will be refused without refunding applicants.

A notice has been allegedly issued to its trading partners in Nigeria which includes travel agents

"All Dubai applications submitted are now rejected. It is general for Nigerians and approvals are on hold at the moment," the notice read, according to Nigerian media.

"Kindly advise your clients to resubmit C2=A0 applications when the issue is resolved between both governments."

"Kindly advise your clients to resubmit applications when the issue is resolved between both governments," the alleged notice reads.

The reports added that the UAE will keep this decision until diplomatic issues between Abu Dhabi and Abuja are resolved.

Last month, the UAE reportedly stopped issuing tourist visas to people aged under-40 from a number of countries, including Nigeria.

The New Arab has contacted the Nigerian Embassy in Abu Dhabi and UAE embassy in London for comment about the claims.

The New Arab

 

Direct flights between Nigeria and Israel might be coming soon

Starting next month, Israelis might be able to travel to a new destination in Africa directly from Ben-Gurion Airport.

Nigerian airline Air Peace could start offering direct flights between Nigeria and Israel very soon, CEO Allen Onyema revealed this week in a meeting with the Israeli envoy to Nigeria.

The launch of the new flight route between Lagos and Tel Aviv, while not officially confirmed as of yet, could come as early as next month.

New potential line good news for Nigerian Christians

The 4,300 km. route would see the flight time between the two countries decrease significantly to only six hours. Currently, the travel can often include several transfers and usually takes longer than 10 hours.


The potential line is especially significant for many Nigerian Christians who wish to travel to Israel for its holy sites.

The Jerusalem Post

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Dubai's Emirates to resume Lagos flights after Nigeria releases funds

Emirates will resume some flights to Nigeria this month after the Central Bank of Nigeria released a portion funds the Dubai airline had earned in the country but had not been able to repatriate.

An airline spokesperson said flights to Lagos will resume from Sept. 11, though it is not possible to resume flights to Abuja in September because resources had already been stood down.

"We continue to engage with the Nigerian authorities to ensure the repatriation of our outstanding and future funds may continue without hindrance," the spokesperson said, welcoming what it said was the central bank's move to release a portion of its blocked funds.

The airline did not say how much money had been released or how much remained blocked.

The state-owned carrier last month announced it was suspending all flights to Nigeria from Sept. 1 after it said it had made no progress with local authorities to access its funds.

Nigeria's Central Bank later said it had released $265 million to airlines to settle outstanding ticket sales.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA), the largest airline group, had said that by July Nigeria was blocking airlines from repatriating $464 million in revenue.

By Alexander Cornwell

Reuters

Related story: Emirates suspends Nigeria passenger flights until further notice

Emirates to suspend Nigeria flights from September over trapped funds

Dubai's Emirates will suspend flights to Nigeria from next month over an inability to repatriate funds from Africa's most populous nation, the airline said on Thursday.

The decision highlights the difficulties faced by international carriers that fly to Nigeria, which is one of the biggest markets in Africa for several of them.

The country has restricted access to foreign currency for imports and for investors seeking to repatriate their profits due to a shortage of dollars. Nigeria gets about 90% of its foreign exchange from oil, but is struggling to produce due to pipeline theft and years of under-investment.

The International Air Transport Association said in June Nigeria was withholding $450 million in revenue that international carriers operating in the country had earned.


Emirates said it had made no progress in efforts to initiate dialogue with the relevant authorities for their urgent intervention.

"Therefore, Emirates has taken the difficult decision to suspend all flights to and from Nigeria, effective 1 September 2022, to limit further losses and impact on our operational costs that continue to accumulate in the market," it said in a statement.

A Federal Ministry of Aviation spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Emirates had earlier sent a letter to the government saying it could cut flights to Lagos this month because it could not get $85 million stuck in the country as of July, a figure that had been rising by $10 million per month.

Emirates said it would re-evaluate its decision if the situation over the blocked funds changed in the coming days.

Affected customers would be helped to make alternative travel arrangements where possible, it added.

By MacDonald Dzirutwe 

Reuters

Video - Nigerian students opt for foreign studies due to local universities' long closure

Nigeria is experiencing a massive rise in education tourism. This is amid an indefinite strike action that has left public universities shut for months. Students are now seeking options in the UK, Canada, and other countries where they can continue their studies.

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Africa has recorded a spike in air travel demand as governments gradually relax COVID-19 travel protocols. The International Air Transport Association says the continent accounted for almost 2 percent of the total world passenger air travel market in May 2022. Kelechi Emekalam takes a look at how Nigeria's air travel industry, one of the hardest hit by pandemic restrictions, is faring.

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Passport Issuance: Nigeria immigration introduces tracking system

The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) said it has introduced a tracking system for the monitoring of statuses of passport applications by applicants.

The acting comptroller general of NIS, Isah Idris, who disclosed this during a brief media interaction on Saturday evening, said the initiative is part of the agency’s efforts toward sustaining transparency and accountability in the passport issuance process.

Mr Idris said since the launch of the online appointment system by the agency, the allegations of corruption and harassment against his personnel have significantly reduced. This is even as he appealed to Nigerians to always stick to the rules and “stop inducing our officers.”

He said: “Like parcels sent through logistic companies or visa applications, we have introduced a tracking system so that people can stay in the comfort of their rooms and know the status of their passport applications.

“You don’t need to offer anyone any kobo. All that you need to do is to log into our website on www.trackimmigration.gov.ng, upload the required details and see an immediate response on the status of your passports.”
 

Significance of the initiative

According to Mr Idris, the new initiative is part of the efforts to phase out human interactions, saying the rowdiness and delay in the passport issuance would soon be a thing of the past.

He said the best method to address the inadequacies identified with the production process is the deployment of technology and pleaded with Nigerians to always apply for their passport before its expiration or “only when they need it.”

He added that other measures are being put in place to resolve all the challenges identified with passport application in Nigeria, saying the challenges currently being experienced are results of combined problems of the coronavirus disease, foreign exchange scarcity, national identity number validation, among others.
 

Other measures

The acting comptroller general said apart from the tracking system, the agency will also in the next four weeks introduce self-validation of applicants’ NIN available on its portal and that only when such is done will the applicant proceed to pay and book an appointment for capturing.

He said: “We must also note that passports confer on holders the integrity of a nation, therefore the integrity of producing such documents should also not be compromised. So we must verify the authenticity of applicants’ claims before we proceed for production.

“Also, most times, delays are usually caused by the NIN validation problems and what we want to do now will allow individual applicants to, first of all, verify and validate their NIN and only upload validated NIN before they can pay for passports. By doing that, we would have successfully tackled the issue of a delay from other partners which we don’t have control over.”
 

Alert system introduction

Meanwhile, Mr Idris also explained that the Service is working on the introduction of an alert system “so that holders of passports can be reminded when it is six months to the expiration of their passports.”

“Like the driver licences, NIS is planning to introduce an alert system as soon as passports have about six months to expire. This is how much we are trying to leverage on technology to ease the stress currently being experienced,” the acting CGI said.
 

Production domestication

He also spoke on the plan to domesticate the production of passports, saying efforts have reached an advanced stage towards achieving that.

Mr Idris said President Muhammadu Buhari has since issued a directive towards achieving that, and that the ongoing process will only continue pending the completion of the domestication project.

He thanked the minister of interior, Rauf Aregbesola, for his efforts towards achieving the target, and pledged his administration’s commitment to “the dream.”

“If we eventually do that, we would have opened more job opportunities for Nigerians, improve the national economy by stopping the capital flight, and also enhance the sanctity of our nation. But there is more to it than just the production. The integrity of the system matters a lot and we cannot afford to have a passport that would lose its integrity,” he added.

By Mojeed Alabi

Premium Times

Video - Nigeria faults travel ban imposed by the UK on African countries

 

The Nigerian Government faulted the travel ban imposed by the UK on Nigeria and other African countries. Authorities say the country will not reciprocate, rather it's travel protocol has been revised as a way to manage the risk of spreading the new COVID-19 variant of concern, Omicron. Phil Ihaza reports from Abuja.

UAE to resume flight from Nigeria, five other countries Aug. 5

The United Arab Emirates will on Thursday lift a ban on transit flights including from Nigeria, Uganda and India India, the National Emergency and Crisis Management Authority (NCEMA) said on Tuesday.

The transit ban had also included Nepal, Sri Lanka and Pakistan.

NCEMA said on Twitter that passengers travelling from countries where flights had been banned would be able to transit through its airports from August 5 as long as they present a negative PCR coronavirus test taken 72 hours prior to departure.

However, the tests must be taken in approved laboratories and carry a QR code. Countries will also be required to allocate special lounges at the airport for transit passengers while taking all precautionary and preventive measures,” the statement said.

Dubai state carrier Emirates welcomed the government’s decision to allow travel to resume from the affected countries.

There was no immediate comment from other UAE airlines on the announcement, which also eased an entry ban on residents returning from countries where flights had been suspended.

NCEMA said a ban on entry to the UAE for passengers from these countries would also be lifted for those with valid residencies and who are certified by Emirati authorities as fully vaccinated.

However, they would need to apply for online entry permits prior to travelling and would need to present a negative PCR test taken 48 hours prior to departure.

Those working in the medical, educational or government sectors in the Gulf Arab states as well as those studying or completing medical treatment in the UAE would be exempted from the vaccination requirement as would humanitarian cases.

Flights between Nigeria and the UAE remain suspended since March 17 over dispute relating to Covid-19 testing.

While the UAE imposed antigens rapid test on travellers from 58 countries; the Nigerian government insisted there was no basis for the test as it was devoid of any scientific backing.

ICIR

Why UAE refuses work permit applications from Nigerians

The on-going rift between the governments of Nigeria and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has taken a new dimension as the Arab country has barred Nigerians from applying for work permits and placed visa restrictions on them.

An official at the Ministry of Labour (MOL) in the UAE confirmed that work permits were being regulated in view of precautionary and preventive measures for COVID-19.

The MOL governs all work-related issues and is responsible for issuing work permits (or labour cards) and imposing labour bans “on those who are entitled to one.”

However, the new regulation imposed by the ministry seems to target only Nigerian nationals. Director of the Nigerian in Diaspora Organisation (UAE) Fernando Judel told The ICIR that the restriction was an internal arrangement restricted only to the ministry, and Nigerians seeking to apply for work permit renewals were barred from doing so.

“We have been having that issue for about a week plus now, where some people would apply for this labour or work permit and it would get rejected. This is only for Nigerian nationality, although over the years, we have been having issues like that and the issue always comes when our people indulge in a profile crime.

“If you want to apply, you would see a display in the dialogue box that it is restricted to this nationality being Nigeria. So the person cannot even apply at all, let alone the ministry receiving the application and rejecting it,” Judel told this newspaper.

It was gathered that on June 15, some Nigerian cultists in Sharjah got into a bloody fight that left more than a dozen people dead, according to unofficial sources.

A footage circulated online showed a group of armed with machetes arriving at an apartment complex in Sharjah where they forcefully gained entry into an apartment and attacked its occupants.

Other videos showed the aftermath of the attack: mutilated bodies lying on the floor of a narrow bloodied hallway.

Further investigations revealed that the clash on June 15 coincided with the 58th anniversary of The Supreme Eiye Confraternity (SEC), also known as the National Association of Airlords, which was formed at University of Ibadan in 1963.

However, a member of the confraternity identified as Habakrier NA Airlord insisted that SEC was not a cult but a socio-cultural brotherhood that believed in the communion of minds and the traditional teachings of the ancient African oratorical practices.

“SEC is not a gang and as such does not engage in gang-related activities. We renounce any forms of violence perpetrated by individuals with nefarious intent within and outside the walls of the Nigerian Ivory Towers as proven by our strategic presence in the National Inter-Frat Council (NIFC) and the SEC initiative of ‘Stop the Confra Wars,’” he said.

But many do not believe his position, given the perceived violent nature of the group.

Another video has also emerged online of a medical practitioner clad in a personal protective clothing calling out some girls for allegedly killing a local after the cult clash and lamenting how the bad behavior of a few Nigerians was robbing off on the entire black population in the UAE.

“Once you’re a Nigerian, they will be running from you. Hushpuppi own dey. Woodberry own dey. Some Nigerians dey do cultism for Sharjah, that one still dey there. Now some girl go kill local. Now, whether you are a Nigerian or Cameroonian, they are just arresting everybody,” he said in pidgin, a local brand of English spoken mainly in west and central Africa.

He called on all Nigerians to assist the police in fishing out those engaged in nefarious activities so that the innocent and hardworking majority would not be made to pay for the sins of a few.

 

Visa restriction on Nigerians by UAE


Recent infamous activities of some Nigerians may not be unconnected to the recent rejection faced by Nigerians trying to renew their work permits in the UAE, even though the country’s labour ministry claims the measure was put in place to curb the spread of COVID-19.

Judel said only a few persons who had applied for work permits were able to get them on concessionary grounds, adding that “another category of people that get visas is free-zone companies.” He explained that employees in free-zone companies were not affected by this regulation because free-zone companies dealt directly with the immigration department who issued them visas.

In addition, he said any Nigerian who had been issued labour or work permit from the ministry of labour by their employer could get their employment visas renewed with ease.

 

UAE and visa restrictions on Nigerians

However, Judel frowned at the UAE for arbitrarily restricting visas from Nigerians without an official communication.

“Once they indulge in that profile crimes, the UAE would restrict our visa, whether employment or tourist but over the years it has been happening. For the years back, there has been no official statement about our visa restrictions. When they know that they do not have any stand to justify the restriction, they would tag it anything,” he said.

Last July, the UAE imposed a restriction on Nigerian visas after two rival cult groups – The Neo-Black Movement of Africa (also known as BlackAxe) and The Aromate Group (also known as Barggas) -had a clash also in Sharjah, which resulted in casualties, including the number one leader of the Aromate Group.

The UAE at the time denied blacklisting Nigerians from getting visas into the country. The Embassy in Abuja cited precautionary measures to combat the spread of the COVID-19 virus as the reason for the ‘temporary suspension’ of visas.

“At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the UAE took a number of precautionary measures to combat the virus’ spread, including the temporary suspension on issuing UAE visas for all nationalities as of March 17, 2020,” the Embassy tweeted.

The restriction was eventually lifted in September after Nigeria agreed to allow the operation of Emirates Airlines in Nigeria, which had been suspended due to the pandemic, as disclosed by the Minister of Aviation Hadi Sirika.

“UAE has written to state that they agree to issue visas to Nigerians. Consequently, decision has been reached to allow Emirates to fly into Nigeria. Commencement of the Visa issuance is condition precedent. Please bear with this unusual situation. Many thanks,” he said via Twitter.

 

Flight, COVID-19 and diplomatic row

Flights between Nigeria and the UAE have been suspended since March 17 of this year over disagreement relating to COVID-19 testing, which Sirika said was specific to Nigeria.

It is not immediately clear whether the restriction of visas for Nigerians is calculated to compel the Nigerian government to reconsider its position and accept the UAE’s COVID-19 protocol, which Sirika has described as discriminatory and not backed by science. This has worsened the diplomatic row between both countries.

Many Nigerians think the row could have been responsible for work permit denials.

A Nigerian resident in the UAE who did not want his name mentioned, said things were no longer the same in recent times as many Nigerians were becoming more frustrated with work permit restrictions and ‘ a fallacious labelling of a large number of Nigerians as criminals.’ He said some criminals from other parts of Africa also committed crimes while pretending to be Nigerians, saying that the authorities in the UAE were aware of that reality.

BY OGHENEKEVWE UCHECHUKWU

ICIR

Emirates suspends Nigeria passenger flights until further notice

Dubai's flagship carrier Emirates has announced a suspension of flights to and from Nigeria from June 21, 2021.

“In line with government directives, passenger flights to and from Nigeria (Lagos and Abuja) are suspended with effect from 21 June 2021 until further notice,” it said in a statement.

“Customers travelling to and from Lagos and Abuja will not be accepted for travel. Customers who have been to or connected through Nigeria in the last 14 days are not permitted to board from any other point to the UAE,” said the statement posted on its website.

The Supreme Committee of Crisis and Disaster Management in Dubai on Saturday eased travel rules for inbound passengers arriving from India, South Africa and Nigeria.

“We regret the inconvenience caused, and affected customers should contact their booking agent or Emirates call centre for rebooking. Emirates remains committed to Nigeria, and we look forward to resuming passenger services when conditions allow,” Emirates said. 

Khaleej Times

Nigerian Passport Nigeria Immigration suspends accepting new applications for passports

Nigeria will not accept new applications for international passports until old applications are attended to, the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has said.

While addressing journalists in Abuja on Tuesday, the comptroller of NIS, Mohammad Babandede, said the agency would commence the accepting new applications from June 1.

Mr Babandede said the directive was given by the Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola.

“The process of receiving and processing all fresh passport applications nationwide is suspended till 1st June 2021, when the new passport regime would have taken effect,” he said.

“The suspension of receiving and processing of fresh passport applications is to allow for clearance of every passport application that was received before 17th of May 2021.”

He said all payment portals have been closed till June 1 and a task force will be sent to passport offices to clear the backlog.

Mr Babandede said deputy comptrollers have been deployed to all passport centres to monitor the process and ensure the directive is followed.

New applications will be granted in six weeks from the time of application, he said.

Mr Babandede decorated senior officers of the NIS who were recently promoted.

By Oge Udegbunam 

Premium Times

Nigeria bans travellers from India, Brazil, Turkey over COVID-19 fears

Nigeria will ban travellers coming from India, Brazil and Turkey because of concerns about the rampant spread of coronavirus in those countries, a presidential committee said on Sunday.

"Non-Nigerian passport holders and non-residents who visited Brazil, India or Turkey within Fourteen (14) days preceding travel to Nigeria, shall be denied entry into Nigeria," Boss Mustapha, chairman of the presidential steering committee on COVID-19, said in a statement.

The ban will take effect from May 4, the statement said.

Nigeria announced 43 confirmed new coronavirus cases on Saturday, bringing its total to 165,153, with 2,063 deaths.

Indian hospitals, morgues and crematoriums have been overwhelmed as the country has reported more than 300,000 daily cases for more than 10 days straight. Many families have been left on their own to find medicines and oxygen.

In Brazil, new coronavirus cases have fallen off a late-March peak, but remain high by historical standards. Total deaths in the country are second only to the United States.

Turkey imposed a nationwide "full lockdown" on Thursday, lasting until May 17, to curb a surge in coronavirus infections and deaths, with the world's fourth highest number of cases and the worst on a per-capita basis among major nations.

Reuters

Nigeria suspends passports of 100 passengers who violated COVID-19 rules

The Nigerian government announced the suspension of 100 passports of passengers who failed to comply with a mandatory COVID-19 test following the seventh day of their arrival.

A notice from the government imposed a six-month suspension on their passports with effect from January 1 to June 30.

The notice added that the offending passengers, whose nationalities were not identified, were duly notified of the government’s action.

“Defaulting passengers have been notified and will not be allowed to travel using these passports during this period,” the COVID-19 Presidential Task Force (PTF) said.

In late December, Nigeria imposed tougher measures for passengers traveling into the country, particularly from the UK and South Africa, in the wake of a surge in COVID-19 cases locally and the detection of new COVID-19 variants in those countries.

Passengers from the two countries are to be received and processed separately by public health authorities upon arrival in Nigeria. Additionally, all such passengers are required to self-isolate for seven days after arrival after which they will have to undertake a COVID-19 PCR test.

Passengers who will test positive for COVID-19 thereafter will be referred for isolation and further management while those who test negative will be allowed to leave isolation.

Nigeria has reported more than 90,000 confirmed coronavirus cases and more than 1,300 related deaths, according to data from the World Health Organization.

By David Ochieng Mbewa

CGTN