TheCable

President Muhammadu Buhari says all Africans travelling to Nigeria will get visa on arrival from January 2020.

The president said this at the ongoing Aswan Forum for Sustainable Peace and Development in Africa holding in Egypt.

“We in Nigeria have already taken the strategic decision to bring down barriers that have hindered the free movement of our people within the continent by introducing the issuance of visa at the point of entry into Nigeria to all persons holding passports of African countries with effect from January 2020,” he said.

The government had introduced visa on arrival for business travellers in 2018 as part of its ease of going business campaign.

Members of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) do not also require a visa to visit Nigeria as part of the ECOWAS treaty.

Buhari equally emphasised that massive investment in transportation infrastructure was necessary for African economic resurgence as this would facilitate the African Continental Free Trade Agreement recently signed on by the continental leaders.

“Africa should embark on the provision of transport connectivity by enhancing the development of roads, rail, and air links which will ease the free movement of persons, goods and services within the continent,” he said.

“In this regard, we in Nigeria have already commenced an aggressive drive to upgrade our rail transport system and road networks across the country.

“We should furthermore promote free trade within and amongst Africa and Africans especially now that we have launched the African Free Trade Area Agreement.”

The African Continental Free Trade Area is the largest in the world since the creation of the World Trade Organisation in 1995.

It is a trade agreement between 54 AU member states, with the goal of creating a single, unified market for goods and services followed/facilitated by free movement and a single-currency union.