September 09, (THEWILL) – President Bola Tinubu is scheduled to depart India for Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE), in the coming hours, to meet with President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and his officials, in a bold move to resolve the issues surrounding the suspension of issuance of visas to Nigerians, as well as the suspension of Emirates Airlines flights to Nigeria.
THEWILL gathered authoritatively that the trip, which is yet to be announced, will see President Tinubu make a detour to Abu Dhabi enroute Abuja.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar, Aviation Minister, Festus Keyamo (SAN), and other key officials are scheduled to be on the president’s entourage.
THEWILL recalls that Emirates Airline had suspended flight operations to Nigeria in October 2022, over the country’s inability to repatriate trapped funds. The government of UAE also banned nationals of 20 African countries including Nigeria, from entering the Gulf country.
But President Tinubu had in a statement, directed immediate resolution of the dispute.
Speaking on the issue on Thursday, August 24, when he received the Letter of Credence of Ambassador of UAE, Salem Saeed Al-Shamsi, at the presidential villa in Abuja, the President stressed his readiness to “personally’’ intervene in the dispute.
“We are a family with UAE, we only live in separate rooms, but we are in the same house. We should look at the issues as a family problem, and resolve it amicably”, the President had said.
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