Visa on arrival: Senate orders halt on implementation

The Senate yesterday overwhelmingly rejected the immediate implementation of the presidential directive for ‘free entry visa’ for Africans into Nigeria.

The Upper Legislative chamber also summoned the Minister of Interior to appear before the Senate Committee on Interior, Judiciary and Legal matters and “explain the technical, logistics, legal constitutional issues that are available and required for compliance before the implementation of the same visa on arrival policy.”

Senator Olubunmi Adetumbi (Ekiti North, (APC) had canvassed for proper legislation on ‘Visa on Arrival’ in a motion entitled “urgent need to seek domestication of the African continental free trade agreement (AcFTA) by an act of the national assembly prior to implementation OF the proposed visa on arrival For citizens of African countries”

Senators who took a turn to speak during consideration of the motion raised by Ekiti North Senator, Olubunmi Adetumbi (APC), insisted on the domestication of all international agreement by the Senate before any such execution on any part of Nigeria.

President Muhammadu Buhari had announced that nationals of all African countries can now enter Nigeria without a visa in his move to facilitate free trade.

President Buhari had made the announcement while attending the Aswan Forum in Egypt, that Nigeria would offer complete visa exemptions to all Africans a statement Ambassador Ahmed Awad, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Federal Republic of Somalia shared on his Twitter handle in commendation of the move.

Adetumbi said the policy which in furtherance of the African Continental Trade Agreement (AfCTA) was an affront on some extant laws.

ALSO READ: Corruption: Judicial process too slow for me ― Buhari

He stated that for the policy to gain legitimacy, the Senate was supposed to have all such agreement domesticated before it’s implementation.

Senate Minority leader, Enyinnaya Abaribe said he was fully behind the motion calling for the domestication of the bill which should be presented to the Senate by the executive for legislative action in accordance with the law.

He also said the worry by Nigerians over the policy initiated to drive economic trade between Nigeria and other countries was due to the possible escalation of insecurity more so that the major actors of insurgency foreigners.

He said the national assembly must as a matter of necessity amend the laws and urged President Muhammadu Buhari to send the amendment.

Senator Abba Moro, Benue South (PDP) and former minister of interior in his contribution informed the Senate that Nigeria was already operating “Visa at entry” since 2010.

He said the new policy would then be about “free entry visa” and joined to call for the domestication of the treaty.

In her contribution to the consideration of the motion Senator Betty Apiafi, Rivers West said the Senate must check the seeming emphasis on executive orders to run the affairs of state back to when this African free trade zone treaty was to be signed or not to be signed.

”Obviously, there are a lot of reasons why we did not sign this treaty. When eventually this treaty was signed, this Senate extensively debated the treaty and the need for the executive to send it to us in the Senate for domestication or for us to even understand the document of the content of the treaty.

“The free trade treaty is a treaty that will alter a lot of things especially in the way we do business as a Nation and it is not a document that we should not take very seriously.

“Of course again, in these days where institutions are run with executive orders, you pass executive orders and things are done in accordance with executive orders which passed as a law, it is dangerous to allow this kind of thing to continue.

“I want to call on my colleagues who will contribute to this motion insist that the entire document of the treaty is brought to the national assembly for us to understand the document and seek expert advice on how to domesticate and we need to take out as portions from this treaty that will be of benefit to Nigeria.

It was Awad, who was at the Aswan Forum in a tweet said that starting from January 2020, all Africans will be able to arrive in Nigeria without a visa.

He said, “I wish to profoundly commend President @MBuhari of #Nigeria who just announced at the Aswan Forum complete visa exemption for all Africans.

“Starting January 2020, Africans will be able to arrive in Nigeria without visas,” he stated.