President Muhammadu Buhari has announced Nigeria will issue visas on arrival for all African passport holders with effect from January 2020, dropping the requirement for people to apply for a visa in advance, reported BBC.
President Buhari made the announcement on Wednesday during the Aswan Forum on peace and sustainable development in Egypt. He said it showed Nigeria’s commitment to the free movement of Africans within Africa.
“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 a visa at the point of entry into Nigeria to all persons holding passports of African countries with effect from January 2020,” Buhari said.
The Nigerian President also appealed for massive investment in Africa’s transportation infrastructure. With over 190 million inhabitants, Nigeria is currently Africa’s biggest economy and market.
The announcement comes just a few months after Nigeria finally agreed to ink a deal aimed at promoting free trade on the continent. Along with Benin, it was one of the last nations to join the new African free trade zone in July. The African Continental Free Trade Agreement is a treaty that seeks to establish a continent-wide marketplace with increased trade and freer movement among its major pillars.
When the new visa policy is implemented, Nigeria will join Kenya and Ethiopia as countries which have recently established visa on arrival policies for all African nationals. African nations like Seychelles and Benin are the top-performing countries to have loosened their visa regimes, offering visa-free access to over 50 Africans countries.
In contrary to Buhari’s decision to promote free trade on the continent, he has kept Nigeria’s land borders with all its neighbors closed since August, making it impossible for businesses to do cross-border trade by road.
