EXCLUSIVE: 24 Hours After UAE ‘Lifted’ Ban on Nigerians, What PRNigeria Fact Check Discovered
Following bilateral talks between President Bola Tinubu and President of the United Arab Emirate (UAE), His Highness Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, announced that the oil-rich Middle East nation has lifted the visa ban placed on Nigerian travellers, after almost one year. https://prnigeria.com/2023/09/12/uae-visa-ban-nigeria/
But while official and news sources from the UAE remained silent on the visa ban lift for Nigerians, Etihad and Emirates airlines, which are expected to resume flights from Nigeria to the UAE are yet to schedule any flight, based on checks by PRNigeria fact checkers.
The news of Tinubu’s trip to Abu Dhabi, which was widely reported in the Nigerian mediasphere, however drew controversy when curious observers pointed out that the UAE did not mention the lifting of the ban in a statement it put out on its official website.
However, the statement from the Nigerian Presidency not only announced that the ban has been lifted, but further informed Nigerians that Etihad and Emirates Airlines would resume flight operations in Nigeria immediately.
To validate the Nigerian government’s story, PRNigeria fact-checkers deep dived into news sources from the UAE and it was discovered that while Nigerian and Forign media largely reported the lifting of the ban with reference to the statement from Nigerian Presidency, Dubai news platforms such as Gulf News and Emirates News mostly reported that that both Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu and UAE’s President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan who both met at Qasr Al Shati in Abu Dhabi discussed enhanced coorporation between both countries.
The report further revealed that UAE’s President further expressed his hope that the two leaders will work together to reinforce ties between the UAE and Nigeria for the benefit of both countries.
It emphasized that the UAE President and Nigerian President explored opportunities for further bilateral collaboration in areas that serve both countries’ sustainable economic growth, including the economic, development, energy, and climate action fields.
While all news sources mentioned that the two sides also exchanged views on a number of regional and international developments of interest, there was no mention about the lifting of the ban.
PRNigeria fact checkers then dived into the official website of UAE’s Ministry of foreign affairs where it discovered that the statement by the foreign ministry corroborated reports as seen on UAE’s mediasphere.
PRNigeria fact checkers then contacted the foreign ministry on its hotline +97180044444 but the call kept dropping.
To verify if Etihad and Emirates have resumed flight as stated in the release, PRNigeria fact checkers visited the official website of the airlines and attempted to book a flight. When Nigeria was entered on Etihad, results revealed that there was no match for it.
However when several queries changing date and route between Nigeria and the UAE with a “flexible” schedule selected on Emirates, the same result appeared showing “There are no flights offered for the dates or route you selected,” kept recurring.
However, investigations are still ongoing with response to the inquiry sent still pending and direct inquiries to the UAE Embassy. Upon completion of this process, PRNigeria will update readers on its VERDICT.
