Tag Archive for: Government of Nigeria

Andrew Stegmann
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Nigeria Places Travel Restrictions on South Africans to Curb New COVID Variant

Passengers travelling from South Africa to Nigeria will be subject to strict regulations effective from Monday 28 December 2020. The latest travel restrictions follow the discovery of 501.V2, a mutation of Covid-19 which is more contagious than the original virus.

While several countries have announced outright travel bans prohibiting the entry of passengers departing, or transiting through, South Africa, Nigeria has opted for a monitored approach.

Passengers from the UK and South Africa will be allowed to enter Nigeria on the condition that they present two documents. Travellers will need to obtain a pre-departure permit to fly – in the form of a unique QR code – from the Nigeria International Travel Portal. Additionally, visitors are required to submit proof of a negative Covid-19 PCR test, obtained within 96 hours of the scheduled departure time.

Incoming passengers will be received and processed separately when disembarking from their flights. Nigeria’s Public Health Authority will oversee the arrival of passengers from both the UK and South Africa, with stringent isolated screening processes in place to prevent Covid-19 transmission within the confines of the airport.

Even with a negative Covid-19 test result, all passengers arriving from South Africa will be subjected to a mandatory seven-day quarantine period. Travellers will again be tested on the seventh day of self-isolation. A negative result will allow travellers to exit quarantine while a positive PCR test will require further isolation for a period prescribed by the Public Health Authority.

Incoming travellers will be monitored closely throughout their quarantine stay and have been urged to comply with all restrictions imposed by the Public Health Authority.

The government has also issued a stern warning to airlines which fail to follow protocols. Penalties include a fine of $3,500 (R51,000) for each defaulting passenger. Airlines may also be expected to return non-Nigerian defaulting passengers. Repeated non-compliance by any airline will lead to the suspension of the Airline`s Approval/Permit to fly into the country.

The announcement comes just days after the African Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) revealed that a new Covid-19 variant had been discovered in Nigeria. “It’s a separate lineage from the UK and the South African lineages,” said John Nkengasong, director of the African CDC.

Nkengasong added that it was still too early to tell if the new variant discovered in Nigeria was more contagious.

 

For information as to how Relocation Africa can help you with your Mobility, Immigration, Research, Remuneration, and Expat Tax needs, email info@relocationafrica.com, or call us on +27 21 763 4240.

Sources: [1], [2]. Image sources: [1], [2].

Andrew Stegmann
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Nigeria to Immediately Reopen Four Land Border Crossing Points

Nigeria will reopen four border crossing points immediately, more than a year after closing its land frontiers to crack down on smuggling, the government said on Wednesday.

Nigeria closed its land borders last year to curb smuggling of rice and arms, which it says threatens efforts to boost local production and security, and to generate state revenues through import duties.

The government at a cabinet meeting approved the reopening of Seme border to the South West, Illela and Maigatari border in the North West and Mfun in the South. The others will be reopened on December 31.

It kept restrictions on rice import and some other products.

Last month, the government ratified its membership of the African free-trade zone due to be launched in January, after initial reluctance to join the bloc for fear of exposing local industries to dumping by countries outside Africa.

Discussions to reopen Nigeria’s borders closed to the movement of goods have been going on for months. Nigeria has insisted on levying duties on goods transiting its country through neighbouring nations to curb smuggling.

 

For information as to how Relocation Africa can help you with your Mobility, Immigration, Research, Remuneration, and Expat Tax needs, email info@relocationafrica.com, or call us on +27 21 763 4240.

Sources: [1], [2]. Image sources: [1], [2].

Andrew Stegmann
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President Buhari: Nigeria to Re-open Land Borders Soon

More than a year after it closed its land borders, Nigeria is looking to reopen them ‘as soon as possible’, President Muhammadu Buhari said Tuesday. Mr Buhari stated this during a meeting with governors elected on the platform of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Abuja. The president said the closure of the borders was also an attempt to control the smuggling of weapons and drugs from neighboring countries.

“Now that the message has sunk in with our neighbours, we are looking into reopening the borders as soon as possible,” the president was quoted as saying by his spokesperson, Garba Shehu. Nigeria first showed its willingness to re-open the border last month, amid skyrocketing food prices and increased calls for reopening of the borders. The move came after the nation fell into its second recession in five years, according to GDP data released by the National Bureau of Statistics for the third quarter of 2020. Many have attributed the economic recession partly to the border closure that has been in place since August 2019, which, among others, has seen inflation rise to a 30-month high.

Policy experts have said that lifting the blockade will help check the recession, the nation’s worst in decades, and ease the economic hardship faced by Nigerians. Last month, the Minister of Finance Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, said Mr Buhari would soon receive a report of a presidential committee to advise on the reopening of the borders.

Mrs Ahmed said although the committee set up by Mr Buhari had done an assessment of the gains of the closure and had recommended to the president to reopen the borders, the report had not been submitted. The committee has as members the ministers of finance, budget and national planning, interior and foreign affairs, she said, noting that the report would be submitted “once members of the committee sign the report.

“We have made an assessment. The president set up a committee and we have made an assessment and all the members of the committee agreed and are recommending to the president that it is time to reopen the borders,” she said. “The objective has been met in the sense that we have been able, over these couple of months, to work together with our partners in a tripartite committee and do a joint border patrol together and reinforce the sanctity of the commitments that we made to each other.

“So, each side has learnt its lessons. Nigeria has been affecting our partners in terms of businesses that we have in Nigeria as well. So, we will be expecting that the borders will be reopened very soon. The date will be decided by Mr President.” On Tuesday, although Mr Buhari said the government would act on the border closure issue “as soon as possible”, the president did not specify the date.

 

For information as to how Relocation Africa can help you with your Mobility, Immigration, Research, Remuneration, and Expat Tax needs, email info@relocationafrica.com, or call us on +27 21 763 4240.

Sources: [1], [2]. Image sources: [1], [2].

Andrew Stegmann
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Relocation Africa Nigerian Immigration Interview With Kunle Obebe

Lynn Mackenzie, our Immigration Lead, recently had the privilege of interviewing Ola Alokolaro, from Advocaat Law, about Cameroon and Sierra Leone’s immigration landscape.

To listen to Lynn and Ola’s conversation about immigration in the current context, click here to view the recording, or view it below.

Kunle’s bio

Kunle is recognized as the foremost Nigerian lawyer in immigration, employment and labor matters and is frequently sought after as local counsel for large international companies. He is said to be the “the first port of call” and has a “long standing reputation” in the market (Who’s Who Legal – Nigeria 2014).

Kunle advises multi-national corporations, Fortune 500 companies, high net-worth individuals and Nigerian companies on issues relating to regulatory compliance with particular reference to expatriate and Nigerian employee work authorization in and out of Nigeria and corporate and commercial law.

He is a certified Global Mobility Specialist and a regular speaker at Nigerian and international conferences/seminars on regulatory compliance and emerging corporate immigration issues in Nigeria.

He is the Managing Partner and Chair of the firm’s Dispute Resolution, Immigration and Employment & Labour Practice Groups at Bloomfield Law Practice.

 

We would like to say a huge thank you to Kunle for his insights. We hope you enjoy the recording.

For information as to how Relocation Africa can help you with your Mobility, Immigration, Research, Remuneration, and Expat Tax needs, email info@relocationafrica.com, or call us on +27 21 763 4240.

Sources: [1], [2]. Image sources: [1], [2].