By Mohammed Mohammed
As part of efforts towards achieving the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) of the present Administration, President Muhammadu Buhari, has launched the Nigerian Visa Policy (NVP) 2020.
The new NVP according to him will support the attainment of a globally competitive economy for the country, by building on the efforts of the presidential enabling business environment council.
While performing the presentation at the State House on Tuesday, Buhari, said the initiative would attract innovation, specialised skills and knowledge from abroad to complement local capacity as a pathway to achieving the Security, Economy and Transparency agenda of his administration.
According to him: “The policy would improve the business environment, attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and boost tourism, without compromising National Security”
Recall that Buhari in Egypt, last November, stated that: “We in Nigeria have already taken the strategic decision to bring down barriers that have hindered the free movement of our people within the continent by introducing the issuance of visa at the point of entry into Nigeria to all persons holding passports of African countries with effect from January 2020.”
While quoting the Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, Mrs. Grace Njoku, Chief Information in the Ministry, said the operation of the NVP is cardinal to the ease of doing business, adding that the new regime is expected to boost economic activities in the areas of tourism, aviation, entertainment and commerce.
He added that the policy would impact positively on the nation’s economy by providing jobs for the people as well as lifting Nigeria’s teeming population out of poverty in line with the vision of the present administration to take 100million Nigerians out of poverty in the next 10 years.
“The NVP introduces special visas for Nigerians in diaspora who either by birth, marriage or nationalization have assumed dual citizenship. Such category of Nigerians will now be able to make use of the passports of their adopted countries to visit Nigeria without the need for short stay visa”, the Minister said.
Aregbesola, said adequate control measures have been provided both before and after entry into Nigeria, called on Nigerians in Diaspora to respect the provisions of the immigration laws of their new countries as well as those of Nigeria.
Some of the features of NVP 2020 include, Visa On Arrival for African Union nationals, increase in the classes of visas from 6 to 79, creation of visa codes for all classes of visa and introduction of e-visas.
The new visa policy is expected to take Nigeria some steps up in the Africa Visa Openness Report published annually by the African Development Bank (AfDB) which would be a further boost on the global ease of doing business league table.
Also speaking, the Comptroller General, Nigeria Immigration Service, Muhammad Babandede disclosed that, to ensure strict compliance with the conditions for the issuance of the visa, the Service had already put in place, a technological hub which he called, Migrants Information and Data Analysis (MIDAS).
He expressed optimism that the automated system will check bribery and corruption in line with the policy thrust of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led Administration as well as prevent infiltration of the nation’s economy by criminals and terrorists.