By Giwa SHILE
The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has concluded plans to expand its Visa-On-Arrival counters at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos to accommodate the influx of foreigners arriving into the country through the airport.
A top official of the NIS said on Wednesday in Lagos on condition of anonymity that Mr Mohammed Babandede, the Comptroller-General of the NIS, had given approval for the expansion.
TBI Africa reports that at present, the NIS has two Visa-On-Arrival counters at the D and E Wings of the airport which can no longer cope with the demands of visa-on-arrival by foreign travellers.
The source said: “Approval has been granted to expand our counters and this will begin in the next few weeks.
“Sometimes, we have two or more international flights arriving simultaneously and the existing counters cannot accommodate foreigners requesting for such visas.
“It is a part of the Ease of Doing Business Policy of the Federal Government because this will eliminate unnecessary delays in the issuance of visas to foreigners coming into Nigeria.’’
According to the source, apart from creating a more conducive environment for travellers, it will also shore up the image of the country in the international community.
TBI Africa reports that the visa-on-arrival policy by Nigeria began in 2012 with Kenya and a few African countries, but came into full stream with the introduction of the Ease-of-Doing-Business Policy by Federal Government in May 2017.
The Lagos airport command of the NIS recently disclosed that it had issued not fewer than 12, 000 visas to foreigners entering Nigeria through the nation’s busiest airport in the past six months.
