Nigeria, Ethiopia sign visa waiver agreement as Buhari concludes state visit
- The federal government and the Ethiopia government have signed a visa waiver agreement
- Nigeria and Ethiopia also signed a Memorandum of Understanding on defence cooperation
- Garba Shehu, the presidential aide, said the visa waiver agreement is expected to ease travels by officials and contribute to further strengthening of bilateral relations
Following their efforts to strengthen African ties and unity, the Nigerian and the Ethiopian governments have signed a visa waiver agreement for diplomatic and official passport holders, and a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on cooperation in the field of defence.
Legit.ng reports that President Muhammadu Buhari and the Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed witnessed the signing of the agreement on Tuesday, February 11, in Addis Ababa, by their ministers of foreign affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama and Gedu Andargachew, respectively, during the state visit of the Nigerian leader.
The senior special assistant to the president on media and publicity, Garba Shehu, made his known in a statement issued on Wednesday, February 12.
Shehu said the waiver agreement is expected to ease travel by officials and contribute to further strengthening of bilateral relations.
Source: UGC
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Meanwhile, Legit.ng had previously reported that a Nigerian medical practitioner in the United States, Jennifer Adaeze Okwerekwu, lamented the travel ban imposed on Nigerians who may wish to be permanent residents of the North American country.
Okwerekwu, who said her husband is also a medical practitioner, described the ban as capricious and cruel, adding that the racist and xenophobic intent is obvious.
According to Okwerekwu, 29% of America’s physicians and 24% of dentists are immigrants. She said thousands of doctors, dentists and nurses are working to meet America's healthcare needs.
She said since America has excluded Nigerians from the path to American citizenship, the suffering of American doctors would trickle down to impact American patients, adding that as Nigerians suffer, Americans would too.
Also, the federal government slashed its visa application charges for citizens of the United States from $180 to $160.
It was reported that the old amount comprised $160 as a visa fee and $20 as processing and expedient fees.
The comptroller-general of Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Muhammad Babandede, said the reduction followed a review of the US visa reciprocity policy for Nigeria.
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Source: Legit.ng
