Senate wades into Nigeria, UAE diplomatic row

The Senate on Tuesday waded into the diplomatic row between Nigeria and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) following disagreements between both countries.  

This followed a point of order by the Minority Leader, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, during the plenary.   

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Abaribe, while relying on Orders 42 and 52 of the Senate Rules, noted that in February 2021, the federal government stopped the UAE national carrier, Emirates Airline from subjecting Nigerian travellers to additional rapid antigen tests as against its stipulated negative PCR test at the Lagos and Abuja airports before departure. 

He said Emirates Airline then shut down flights to and from Nigeria owing to the disagreement between the airline and the aviation authorities on the propriety of subjecting passengers travelling from Nigeria to emergency COVID-19 protocols.   

The Senate mandated its Committees on Foreign Affairs and the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 to interface with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the National Intelligence Agency on the best ways of resolving this crisis and report back to the Senate within two weeks.