By Deborah Hassan
365Daily – The Senate has mandated its Committees on Foreign Affairs, Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 and National Security and Intelligence and Interior (Immigration Service), to interface with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and National Intelligence Agency (NIA) on best ways of resolving the diplomatic row between the Nigerian Government and the Government of the United Arab Emirate (UAE).
The Committees are expected to report back on the matter within 2 weeks.
This was sequel to the passage of the resolutions of a motion adopted by the Red Chamber on Tuesday, November 16, 2021.
The motion, which was raised via a point of order by the Minority Leader, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, during plenary, explained that the disagreement between the 2 countries began with the decision of the official national carrier of the UAE, Emirates Airline, to subject travellers from Nigeria to additional COVID-19 test before departure.
Relying on Orders 42 and 52 of the Senate Rules, the Lawmaker recalled that in December 2020, a memorandum of understanding was executed between Nigeria and the UAE to provide a platform for both countries to engage each other bilaterally.
He noted that in February 2021, the Federal Government of Nigeria stopped Emirates Airline from subjecting Nigerian travellers to additional rapid antigen test as against its stipulated negative PCR test at the Lagos and Abuja airports before departure.
Speaking further, he said that the airline then shut down flights to and from Nigeria in protest of the disagreement between the airline and the aviation authorities on the propriety of subjecting passengers travelling from Nigeria to emergency COVID-19 protocols.
However, he continued, after an interface between the authorities of the Aviation Ministry and Emirates Airline, flights resumed but it continued to conduct tests for passengers before departure from Nigeria, a development the Federal Government frowned at before subsequently suspending the airline from flying to and from Nigeria.
Abaribe further expressed concern that, “there are allegations that hundreds of legal resident Nigerians living in UAE are losing their jobs on account of the refusal of the authorities to renew their work permit which offends the letters of bilateral agreements which both nations are signatory to.
“Worried that there are speculations that the refusal by the UAE authorities to renew work permit for Nigerians living in there is a calculated attempt to pressure the Nigerian Government into accepting their conditions of service for their national airline that may have lost humongous revenue from the Nigeria route.
“Further worried that if the Nigerian government does not urgently engage the authorities of the UAE, thousands of Nigerians living and working there will lose their jobs and means of livelihood hence the need for a quick interface with the authorities of the UAE.”