The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday blamed the Ministry of Youths and Sports, for not informing Foreign Affairs about their visa applications and refusal on time.
The Permanent Secretary of Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Sola Enikanolaiye, stated this in Abuja while reacting to the recent refusals to Nigeria athletes.
It would be recalled that recently Nigerian boxing workforce to the 2017 Commonwealth Youth Video games in Nassau, Bahamas were denied transit visas by the British embassy and American Embassy in Abuja.
Team Nigeria, having gotten Bahamas visas, had applied to the United Kingdom for transit visas to enable the team to fly through London.
Only one athlete was issued visa out of the 26 applicants while 24 were denied and one is still pending.
The same response was received when the ministry of youth and sports applied to the US embassy.
In a swift reaction Solomon Dalung, minister of youth and sports,wrote a protest letter to the minister of foreign affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, calling for a review of the policy on issuance of visas to Nigerian sportsmen and women.
According to the Permanent Secretary while reacting, “We are following it up, but the ministry didn’t inform us on time. However, we can’t predict what the mission will do because the issuance of visa is the sovereign right of every country.
“We can only persuade and encourage them to do so. Just like we also don’t issue visa to everyone that apply to come to Nigeria.”
The permanent secretary insisted that it is exclusive right of every country to determine who to admit and who not to.
“The applicants can only appeal that the event is important to us. As ministry, we can only persuade using diplomacy.
“This does not suggest any strain relationship between us. Our relation is excellent.
“You don’t measure relations with issuance of visa. Visa is just only one aspect. We have economic, political, defense, military and strategic relations.
“Not issuing visa to applicants has nothing to do with relations.”, he said.
LAIDE AKINBOADE-ORIERE
