A claim that the Government of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) lifted the visa ban on Nigerians, has been circulating on X (formerly Twitter) and also published by some online media outlets in Nigeria.
The controversial claim surfaced online after the President of Nigeria, Bola Ahmed Tinubu returned from a two-day official visit in Qatar.
A verified X user, @MsBeePinkie tweeted the claim on Tuesday with a caption; UAE lifts visa ban on Nigerians. Time to pack my bag.
The claim has been viewed by 788 users, 5 comments, 5 reposts, and 14 reactions.
Legit.ng, an online news outlet in Lagos also posted the claim on Tuesday.
The paper’s caption reads “Good news! “Nigerians can now travel to the UAE hassle-free, thanks to a new bilateral agreement. “Interested travelers will have to first obtain a document verification number”, the tweet further read.
The tweet has garnered over 2.7k views, 27 reactions, and 2 comments.
The claim was also published by other online outlets as seen here,here, and here, raising hope among Nigerians that Tinubu’s visit led to the suspension of the ban.
CLAIM
UAE Government lifts ban on Nigerian travelers after a visit by Nigeria President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
THE FINDINGS
Findings by WikkiTimes indicate that the claim is false
Bayo Onanuga, the special adviser on information and strategy to the president posted on his verified X account earlier today that the claim is false.
His caption reads, “UAE has not resumed visa issuance to Nigerians. The document in circulation is not authorized either by the Nigerian government or the UAE”.
Further, WikkiTimes searched the verified page of the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology in Qatar but could not find related details. Also, their ICT Minister, Mohammed Bin Ali Bin Mohammed Al Mannai didn’t post anything related to the visa ban on Nigerians.
THE VERDICT
The claim that the Visa ban on Nigerians by the UAE of Qatari has been lifted is false and misleading; findings show that Qatari and Nigerian governments didn’t release documents or statements to confirm lifting of the ban on Nigerians.
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