The United Arab Emirates will lift a visa ban placed on Nigerian travelers almost a year ago following an agreement with President Bola Tinubu, who is on a visit to the Middle Eastern nation.
As part of the agreement with UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Etihad Airways and Emirates Airline will resume flights to and from the West African nation, said Ajuri Ngelale, spokesman for Nigeria’s president, in an emailed statement on Monday.
“This immediate restoration of flight activity, through these two airlines and between the two countries, does not involve any immediate payment by the Nigerian government,” he said.
Emirates suspended flights to Nigeria last year over challenges in repatriating funds from the West African nation and Etihad at the start of the pandemic.
Separately, Nigeria was among 20 African countries that the UAE placed visa restrictions on in October without giving a reason.
The deal comes as Tinubu, who was sworn in as president on May 29, has initiated several reforms to attract investment including ending costly gasoline subsidies and easing foreign-exchange controls that led to dollar shortages.
The two nations also agreed to a foreign exchange liquidity program that will be announced in the coming weeks and a framework that will result “in billions of US dollars worth of new investments into the Nigerian economy across multiple sectors,” Ngelale said.
At least 26 people died and several others were missing after a ferry capsized on a reservoir in north central Nigeria on Sunday, local officials said, the second such major accident to hit the region in three months.
Bologi Ibrahim, the spokesperson for the governor of Niger state, said the boat was carrying more than 100 people, including women and children, in the Mokwa local government area of the state. The victims were going to their farms across a major dam, said Ibrahim.
"Twenty six persons, mostly women and children have been confirmed dead, over 30 people rescued, while a combined rescue operation by marine police and local divers in collaboration with Niger State Emergency Management Agency is ongoing," Ibrahim said in a state.
In July, more than 100 people died when an overloaded boat capsized in a remote part of Niger state, in one of the worst such disasters in recent years.
Overcrowding and poor maintenance are responsible for most boat accidents on Nigerian waterways.
After filming a music video for his single “Wish U Well” among the Makoko people in Nigeria, the rapper, 38, has donated 500 canoes to the community who live in structures built on stilts off the coast of Lagos.
Featured artist Swae Lee of the hip-hop duo Rae Sremmurd, as well as media company gamma. and management SALXCO, helped contribute to the donation.
According to a press release, the “Good Summer” artist and his team developed a plan to deliver boats to the community of 200,000 because they are often at the risk of being endangered by flooding and live with a lack of adequate sanitation systems.
The Moroccan-born, Bronx-raised rapper was said to have been drawn to the Makoko and their vibrant culture, which he highlighted in the “Wish U Well” video that dropped last week, and their resilience of living in the face of climate change.
Per the release, this is one of many times the Grammy nominee has given back to underserved communities. Back in 2017 when he and Swae Lee, 30, filmed the music video for their collaboration “Unforgettable” in Uganda, Montana made a financial donation to help build the Suubi Health Center for maternal healthcare. With the project, he became Global Citizen’s first-ever rap ambassador.
The hip-hop star shared a statement about his contribution to the Makoko in a press release. "I witnessed firsthand how water is both a lifeline and an obstacle in Makoko. These boats are essential tools transporting the residents of Makoko and goods and services,” Montana said.
He continued, “As an immigrant from Morocco, giving back to communities in Africa, the place that raised me is so important. When I was filming, I met local leaders who talked about the daily struggles and aspirations of the wider community. I was moved by their spirit and positivity, which inspired me to get involved and to help impact change.”
“Wish U Well” arrived in late August and saw the hip-hop star team up with the Rae Sremmurd star for the first time since 2017.
His documentary, For Khadija, premiered this spring at the Tribeca Festival, detailing his ascension in the music industry and exploring the sacrifices his mother made in his childhood. He spoke to PEOPLE about the project upon its release.
"The greatness start after your comfort zone," Montana said. "I knew that everything I was going to do was going to be out of the ordinary and I would have to sacrifice to get where I needed to go. Sacrificing was me being in the streets, because I hated to see my mother working 12 hours for $100."
"When it seems like it's impossible, that there's a way you could still make it happen," he added. "You just got to let go, man, and have faith, like how my mother did in the documentary. She prays, and how I did, when I had to make a choice, whether I was just going to get caught up with seeing my mother sacrifice, or I was going to do something about it and make a change."
Nigeria's presidential election tribunal on Wednesday rejected challenges by opposition rivals to Bola Tinubu's win in February's disputed vote, following a pattern seen in previous election years in Africa's most populous country.
No legal challenge to the outcome of a presidential election has succeeded in Nigeria, which returned to democracy in 1999 after three decades of almost uninterrupted military rule and has a history of electoral fraud.
Atiku Abubakar of the People's Democratic Party and Peter Obi of the Labour Party, who came second and third respectively, had asked the court to cancel the election, alleging irregularities.
Justices of the five-member tribunal, taking turns to read out judgements for more than 11 hours, rejected Atiku and Obi's individual petitions point-by-point.
Judge Haruna Tsammani said Obi's petition was "unmeritorious" and had "not led any credible evidence sufficient enough" to back claims of irregularities.
Tsammani said Atiku's allegations of vote fraud and were "so lame" and dismissed his argument that Tinubu was not qualified to run for president.
"The petitions are hereby dismissed," said Tsammani.
Obi and Atiku, who were not in court, could not be immediately reached for comment. Obi's Labour Party in a statement rejected the judgment and said it would announce its next steps after a meeting with lawyers.
In a statement from India where he is preparing to take part in the G20 summit, Tinubu welcomed the tribunal ruling and urged his rivals and their supporters to support his government.
European Union observers had said in June that the elections were marred by problems including operational failures and a lack of transparency that reduced public trust in the process.
However, the elections stirred little sign of a groundswell of popular opposition, and Tinubu has been accepted by the international community as Nigeria's legitimate leader.
Atiku and Obi can appeal to the country's Supreme Court to strike down the tribunal's ruling. Any appeal must be concluded within 60 days of the date of the tribunal judgment.
While favourable to Tinubu, the tribunal's ruling was unlikely to generate any particular euphoria or momentum for the president after an election marked by record low turnout of 29%.
In a nation of more than 200 million people of whom 87 million were registered to vote, Tinubu garnered just 8.79 million votes, the fewest of any president since the return to democracy, limiting the goodwill towards him.
Nigeria has secured nearly $14 billion of pledges from Indian investors and seeks an economic cooperation pact with the South Asian nation, a presidential spokesperson said on Wednesday.
India's Jindal Steel and Power (JNSP.NS) has committed to pump $3 billion into Nigeria's steel sector and Indorama Corp plans to invest an additional $8 billion to expand its petrochemical facility in the West African country, spokesperson Ajuri Ngelale said in a statement.
Skipperseil Ltd's founding Chairman Jitender Sachdeva and India's Bharti Enterprises each pledged $1.6 billion over four years to build power generation plants and $700 million in Nigeria, respectively, Ngelale said.
Separately, Nigeria approved a $1 billion partnership agreement with the Indian government to help the Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria attain 40% self-sufficiency in local manufacturing and production of defence equipment in three years, Ngelale said.
President Bola Tinubu, who will attend the G20 summit in New Delhi representing a guest country later this week, held talks with Indian investors under the Nigeria-India presidential roundtable and conference to mobilize global capital to develop infrastructure.
Tinubu is attending at the invitation of India, which currently holds the rotating presidency of the bloc.
"We are ready to give you the best returns for investment possible, there's nowhere else like our country," Tinubu said in the statement.
The government of Africa's top oil producer wants to encourage investments rather than rely on borrowing to fund job creation and build badly needed infrastructure such as railways, roads and power plants.
Tinubu has embarked on Nigeria's boldest reforms in decades, including scrapping a popular but expensive petrol subsidy and lifting foreign exchange trading curbs. He has pledged to revive an economy struggling with record debt, anaemic growth, unemployment, and double-digit inflation.
Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation, is considering applying to become the continent's second member of the G20, after South Africa, and is consulting on the risks and benefits.
