Stranded athletes did not pay for visa on arrival – Immigration

Immigration officials at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) yesterday explained that some athletes who were to partake in the 2018 African Senior Athletics Championships being held in Asaba, Delta State were stranded at the Lagos Airport because they could not pay for the compulsory Visas on Arrival (VoA).

Sources at the MMIA command of the NIS told our correspondent yesterday that that the organizers of the competition should have made arrangement for the athletes to get the VoA to facilitate their entry into the country.

Daily Trust reports that the athletes ought to have applied for the visas online from their countries and made payment before arriving Nigeria.

The development which affected senior athletes numbering over 300 from Kenya, Burundi, among others, reportedly disrupted the smooth organization of the competition which ends on Sunday.

But the Immigration Service dismissed insinuation that the service was behind the athletes’ travails, saying they did not do the needful.

Officials from the service however said despite the development, the passports of the affected athletes were not seized, adding that they only collected the passports for issuance of sticker Visas which is the only means to enter the country.

Technical partner of the immigration, New Works, was said to have issued each of the athletes ID and reference numbers which was a cumbersome process because of internet connectivity.

It was after this was done that the payments were made by the representatives of the athletes.

“I can say authoritatively that immigration officials at the Lagos Airport were not responsible for the delay on arrival of the athletes to Asaba, Delta State. We handled the issue professionally as our callings demand,” the official who did not want to be named said.

The Visa on arrival policy commenced in 2012 with some countries became fully operational in 2017 as part of government’s ease of doing business drive.