Any African visiting Nigeria will be able to get a visa on arrival, President Muhammadu Buhari (pictured) has announced.
He told a meeting of African leaders on Wednesday that it was part of a commitment to ensuring freedom of movement on the continent.
“Nigeria is committed to supporting the free movement of Africans within Africa. Yesterday at the Aswan Forum in Egypt I announced that, in January 2020, we will commence issuance of visas at the point of entry into Nigeria, to all persons holding passports of African countries,” Buhari tweeted.
Citizens of countries that belong to the regional group Ecowas already have visa-free access to Nigeria, but the measure announced by the president should mean other visitors will not need to fill out paperwork before they arrive.
A notice on the immigration service website earlier this year appeared to show that visa on arrival for Africans was already in place, but the authorities have told the BBC that African visitors will no longer have to fill out an application form before they leave their home country.
Although Nigeria’s president was promoting the freedom of movement currently the country is not applying the same rules to goods coming into the country. In August, all land borders were closed in order to tackle smuggling. The measure has brought once-bustling border crossings to a standstill.
