The Nigerian House of Representatives on Tuesday unanimously condemned the cancellation of visas of 264 Nigerian travellers on arrival in Saudi Arabia.
The incident, which was described as an embarrassment to the nation, prompted the House to call on the Federal Government for urgent diplomatic intervention to ensure that such a case does not occur in the future, reports VisaGuide.World.
According to The Nation, the House stressed the need for the government to take diplomatic steps to immediately remedy the situation, urging it to ensure the full implementation of the bilateral air service agreements, protect Nigerian national carriers operating in Saudi Arabia and safeguard the interest of travellers.
To underscore the seriousness of the issue, the House also called on certain authorities to investigate the circumstances surrounding the visa cancellations.
According to Hon. Nkemkanma, the Saudi Arabian authorities revoked the visas of all 264 Nigerian passengers who arrived in Jeddah on an Air Peace flight.
The authorities said that although all the passengers went through the Advanced Passenger Pre-screening System and the process was monitored live by the Saudi Arabian authorities, their visas were cancelled without any explanation, according to The Nation.
Officials at the Nigerian Embassy in Jeddah were unable to ascertain who authorised the cancellation of the visas. This has raised serious concerns about transparency and communication between the two countries.
The incident comes just a week after Air Peace launched its first direct flight to Saudi Arabia, and sources have suggested that the cancellations may be a deliberate strategy to prevent Nigerian airlines from operating on the route.
While the authorities have said that all 264 passengers had their visas cancelled and were not allowed to enter Saudi Arabia, some local newspapers have reported that the number of people affected was reduced to 177 after the intervention of the Nigerian embassy.
So far, neither Air Peace nor the Saudi Arabian government have officially responded to the incident.
The lack of official statements has added an air of uncertainty to the situation and left many questions unanswered. The situation is also discouraging people from travelling to Saudi Arabia for fear of having their visas cancelled on arrival.
