Nigeria approves last evacuation flight for Nigerians stranded in US amid COVID-19

The government of Nigeria has approved the ninth and last evacuation flight for Nigerians stranded in the United States due to COVID-19 travel restrictions, according to a news report by This Day.

This was announced by the Consul General of Nigeria in New York, Benaoyagha Okoyen, in a statement dated August 10, issued on behalf of the country's missions in the US.

According to the statement, the flight is scheduled to convey the evacuees from New Jersey on August 20 to both Abuja and Lagos.

This would come after the seventh and eight evacuation flights scheduled for August 15 and August 19 respectively from Houston, Texas, to Lagos.

The government had so far evacuated 1,739 stranded Nigerian citizens in six special flights from the US which is witnessing a second wave of coronavirus infections.

Also, the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has said that the government may reciprocate the visa restriction imposed on its citizens by the United States and other countries.

The US in January 2020 had said that it would suspend the issuance of visas that can lead to permanent residency for nationals of Nigeria, Eritrea, Kyrgyzstan, and Myanmar. However, they could apply for other visa categories.

The US had also introduced reciprocity fees for Nigerians thereby nearly doubling the cost of obtaining a visa based on the premise that Americans seeking Nigerian visas were paying too much to secure it.