Reps furious over UK travel ban

There was anger on floor of the House of Representatives Tuesday, when lawmakers took turns to condemn the suspension of visiting visas to travellers from Nigeria to the United Kingdom due to reported emergence of a new COVID-19 variant; Omicron.


Minority Leader of the House, Hon. Ndudi Elumelu, had in a motion on the matter, demanded urgent intervention of the House in order to have the issues resolved.
The House therefore mandated its committees on health and Foreign Affairs to interface with the ministries of Health, Foreign affairs and the Presidential Task Force on COVID- 19 on the best ways of resolving the matter.
UK health Secretary, Sajid Javid, Saturday 4th December, 2021, announced a temporary ban placed on Foreign travelers from Nigeria to the UK with effect from Monday the 6th of Decembe, 2021.


Speaking during debate on the motion, Aminu Suleiman blamed the development partly on what he called “diarrhoea of the mouth” by some Nigerian public officials, who rushed out with information that the new variant had been found in Nigeria. He called for diplomatic approach to addressing the issues.


Also in his submission, Hon. Onofiok Luke described the development as a sad one, arguing however that employing diplomatic ways to resolve is one part, while the bigger problem would be ensuring that the right things are done.
“Though the ban is for Nigerians bound for the UK, it does not exempt over 8,000 Nigerian travelers that have bought air tickets to visit Nigeria during this festive period, as the restriction would affect their re-entry into the UK after holidays,” Elumelu had argued earlier.