By Frank Momoh
The Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, on Tuesday launched the new Nigerian Visa Policy (NVP) 2020, principally geard to speed up the ease of doing business across all sectors.
The enhanced visa policy according to information made available to the media by Mrs. Grace Njoku, a Chief Information Officer in the Ministry on behalf of the Director of Public Affairs, Mr. Mohammed Manga, seeks to establish a continent-wide marketplace with increased trade and freer movement among its major economic powers.
The objective of the reforms that have birthed NVP 2020 is to strengthen Nigeria’s position as a key economy in Africa by attracting more Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into the country’s economy which would in turn provide jobs for the people and lift Nigeria’s teeming population out of poverty.
NVP 2020, SHARPEDGENEWS, learnt is also designed to support the attainment of the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (2017 -2020) which is a pathway to achieving the Security, Economy and Transparency (SET) Agenda of the present Administration.
The Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola while speaking at the launch at the State House, stated that its operation is cardinal to the ease of doing business in Nigeria.
The new visa regime is expected to boost economic activities in the areas of tourism, aviation, entertainment, commerce and other areas where Nigeria has comparative advantage over other African countries, he said.
It also presents Nigeria with the opportunity to apply the principle of reciprocity with her visa policy in the nation’s bilateral and multilateral relations, he added.
“The NVP 2020 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, expressed commitment of his ministry to the implementation of the NPV 2020 in view of its supervisory role on the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS).
He assured that NIS would adhere to the published conditions of issuance of visas in a professional, timely and transparent manner.
“The implementation of the NVP 2020 will not compromise national security as adequate control measures have been provided both before and after entry into Nigeria”, the Minister stressed. He urged Nigerians in Diaspora to respect the provisions of the immigration laws of their new countries as well as those of Nigeria.
“The implementation of the NPV2020 will require collaboration with several MDAs involved in diplomacy, trade, investment, education, tourism, manufacturing, monetary policies, security and intelligence. “The new NVP 2020 presents a good opportunity for Nigeria to be a major consideration for investment in Africa and hosting of international events particularly the ones scheduled to hold in Africa.
“It 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.” He said.