The central bank in Nigeria has been instructed by Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari to increase the amount of foreign currency allocated to Dubai’s Emirates after the airline halted operations to and from Nigeria due to a lack of available funds.
Due to severe dollar shortages, many Nigerians and businesses are forced to exchange money on the black market, where the value of the naira has been steadily declining.
Due to a shortage of local currency in the most populous country in Africa, the United Arab Emirates airline had to cancel two of its flights to Nigeria last year.
Buhari requested the resumption of Emirates’ flights to Nigeria as well as the lifting of the UAE’s ‘blanket’ visa ban against Nigerians in a phone call with Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on Monday, according to Buhari’s office.
In a statement, it was stated that President Buhari ‘assured the UAE leader that the issue of the Emirates funds was receiving appropriate attention along with those of other foreign airlines operating in Nigeria.’
To settle outstanding ticket sales, the central bank released $265 million to the airlines in August 2022. As a result, Emirates resumed its flights to Nigeria in September before suspending them at the end of October due to the same problem with blocked funds.
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