- Ease UK visa Policy, Nigerian Business Urge May
The Nigerian London Business Forum has urged the British Prime Minister, Theresa May, to review her country’s immigration policy to make it easy for the partners to obtain visas for travel on the business ground.
In a statement signed by the Director, NILOBF, Prof. Chris Onalo, the forum said it was happy about the visit of the Prime Minister to Nigeria.
The forum said the visit would strengthen economic and bilateral relations between Nigeria and the United Kingdom.
It stated, “In particular, there is an urgent need for a critical review of immigration policies of the two countries. The review specifically is required on the business front. The businesspeople ofthe two countries should find it easy to obtain visas for travel on the business ground.
“Considering the traditional ties of the two countries, time is now for specific visa policy which will make it easy for the businesspeople of the two countries to visit each other with a view to transacting business and promoting investments. Structures thatneed to be considered in reviewing the immigration policy for businesspeople of the two countries should recognise membership of local trade associations and chambers of commerce.”
The NILOBF stated that the investment profile of the two countries were not encouraging but could be improved upon and made bigger.
While speaking on Britain’s dis-engagement from membership of the European Union, the group stated that the governments of the two countries should seize the visit of the Prime Minister to consider the establishment of a credible commonwealth market which would serve the very purpose that made the UK to join the EU in the first instance, and to discourage situation that made the UK to opt out of the EU.
The statement said, “It is a serious oversight on the part of the United Kingdom to have ignored the development of a unified trade, investment and business market for the Commonwealth member nations; just as it is also a show of weak diplomatic engagement on the part of Nigerian government for not being able to canvass for greater economic integration of the Commonwealth Nations.
“After all, all the countries that formed Commonwealth were individually colonised by the Britain.”
