Federal Government on Friday, warned airlines not to fly passengers into Nigeria without valid visas, saying any carrier that flouts Nigeria’s immigration law will be penalised.
Minister of Interior, Mr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, said boarding anyone without a visa was illegal, adding that penalties would be immediately affected.
He also said the enforcement of Landing and Exit Card would commence on 1 August.
Tunji-Ojo spoke at the Stakeholders’ Sensitisation Meeting on the Operationalisation of e-Visa, Landing and Exit Card held in Lagos.
He said: ‘The issue of the visa when coming to Nigeria is with immediate effect. You cannot come to Nigeria without a visa. So, we have told airlines that it is illegal to board anybody without a visa.
‘How can somebody be coming from Europe, coming from Asia, into Nigeria without a visa? Please, we are pleading with you. You are here to do business. But you also have a responsibility in terms of national interest and national security. Before anybody comes to Nigeria, see the person’s visa. Do not pick anybody without a visa’.
On e-Visa, the Minister said since it was launched, there had been close to 6,000 applications, just as over 5,000 e-visas had been issued.
He said: ‘The e-Visa, as I tell people, we are coming late to the party, but thank God we are not too late. This is a solution that most countries in the world adopted years ago. I do not believe that anybody who wants to come to Nigeria for tourism, business to experience hospitality needs to know the Minister of Interior or the Comptroller General of NIS to be able to get a visa to Nigeria. It does not work. Visa is not just a tool of migration management.
‘Visa is an instrument of economic development and economic emancipation for the people. When people come into your country, they pay for hotels, they buy things, they patronise Uber drivers; of course, they invest money into the economy. Of course, we understand that there is a delicate balance with national security, and that is where the solution has developed.
‘Let us look at countries that have adopted the e-visa solution. You will see, from the time they adopted it till now, look at the growth in terms of investment and economy. Because, either you like it or not, migration management is very fundamental to economic growth and development. Do you want to talk about the UAE? Do you want to talk about Qatar? Do you want to even talk about Singapore? Do you want to talk about Morocco? With this, we are trying to make sure that for those 13 categories that fall under the purview of e-visa, you can apply and get your visa within 48 hours’.
