By John Ikani
The British Government has maintained that it will not change its mind on leaving Nigeria in its list of nations banned from entering its borders.
This was disclosed on Sunday, December 12, by the spokesman for the British High Commission, Dean Hurlock.
Hurlock was reacting to a statement by the Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, that the UK, Canada and Saudi Arabia would be put on Nigeria’s travel ban on Tuesday.
The UK had imposed travel restrictions on Nigeria, claiming that 21 cases of Omicron recorded in England were linked to travellers from Nigeria.
Saudi Arabia had also imposed a temporary ban on flights from Nigeria over the increasing number of omicron variant cases.
On its part, Canada also banned travels from Nigeria and nine other African countries over omicron variant concerns.
Sirika said President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration would also place the United Kingdom, Canada and Saudi Arabia on a red list over the outbreak and spread of the Omicron variant.
The Minister noted that countries which placed Nigeria on a red list lacked a moral right to have their airlines fly into Nigeria on commercial operations.
Reacting to the Minister’s statement, Hurlock said Britain had made it clear that travel abroad would be different this year, adding that the UK was sticking to its “standard background lines.”
He added that the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office travel advice was kept under constant review and asked travellers to continue to check it for entry requirements of the destination they plan to visit.
What the UK Government is saying
“The UK Government propose sticking to our standard background lines on whether ‘x’ country will put us on the red list and avoid getting into hypothetical situations.
“The UK government has been clear that travel abroad will be different this year and countries may impose border measures at short notice in line with their own coronavirus policies.
“Travellers can also sign up for e-mail alerts on GOV.UK to get the latest updates as soon as they happen. We are in regular conversations with other countries about their travel policies,” Hurlock explained.”
