The Nigerian Senate Has Rejected The Presidency’s Proposed “Visa On Arrival” Policy

The Nigerian Senate has blatantly opposed President Muhammadu Buhari’s policy on vis-on-arrival.

Buhari had announced that with effect from January 2020, fellow African countries will be allowed into Nigeria without a visa.

The senators believe that considering the spate of insecurity going-on in the country, the action is premature and should be given sometime.

Based on this, they are rejecting the visa-on-arrival policy.

The president had made this announcement on Wednesday 11 2019 at the Aswan Forum in Egypt that with effect from January 2020, other African countries will be allowed to come into Nigeria without a visa

The Nigerian president said that Nigeria will begin to issue visas at the entry point. The red chamber, however, opposed to the idea and proceeded to invite the minister of interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola alongside Controller General of Nigeria Immigration to appear before its committee on interior, judiciary and legal matters.

Senator Adewunmi Adetunbi of the APC argued that the plan is constitutionally premature and legally impossible for the provisions of the said agreement to have any effect within Nigeria’s territory.

Supporting the motion, Eyinnaya Abaribe, Senate Minority leader affirms that several Nigerians were worried about the policy because of the insecurity in the country.

On the contrary, Senator Jibrin opposed the views of other senators who rejected the policy, saying the policy announced by the president is a global trend and should not be faulted.