There were indications on Tuesday that the Federal Government would opt for a retaliatory measure if the United Kingdom go ahead to implement its proposed £3,000 visa bond.
Nigeria was said to have made this known during a private meeting between Foreign Affairs Minister, Olugbenga Ashiru, and British High Commissioner, Andrew Pocock, in Abuja.
It was reported the Federal Government summoned Pocock over the policy which it said was capable of harming the existing cordial relationship between the two countries.
Nigeria is one of the six countries whose nationals would be required to pay the £3,000 bond under a proposed policy that will take effect in November. The others are India, Bangledish, Ghana, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
It was gathered that Pocock admitted at the meeting with Ashiru that the UK planned to introduce the “financial bond as a way of tackling abuse in the immigration system”, but added, “No final decision has been made.”
Ashiru, who was said to have recalled the days when nationals of Commonwealth travelled freely to the UK and other member states, expressed displeasure over the policy which he described as not only “discriminatory but capable of undermining the spirit of the Commonwealth family.”
A source privy to the meeting said, “The minister conveyed the reservations of the Federal Government to Pocock, who said the policy was still a proposal. The minister reminded him of British investments in Nigeria and vice-versa.
“He asked him to think about the implications a retaliatory measure would have on the two countries. The minister stressed that Nigeria might also impose £3,000 visa bond on British nationals coming into the country too.”
After the meeting, the ministry issued a statement in which it recalled “the strong historical bonds between the peoples of the various countries who were all regarded at that time as Commonwealth citizens.”
It further “recalled that this time-honoured practice was unilaterally jettisoned by the UK in 1985, thereby weakening the bonds of the Commonwealth family.”
According to the statement by the spokesperson for the ministry, Ogbole Ode, Ashiru told the British envoy “that the proposed policy would definitely negate the joint commitment by Prime Minister David Cameron and President Goodluck Jonathan to double the volume of bilateral trade between the two countries by 2014.”
It added, “Ambassador Ashiru pointed out that the decision of the UK government is coming at the time the Commonwealth Foreign Ministers have unanimously recommended for adoption at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in November 2013, a proposal to remove visa requirements for holders of official and diplomatic passports from member states.”
Ashiru, who appealed to the UK to reconsider the proposed policy, noted “that the Federal Government has a responsibility to take appropriate measures to protect the interests of Nigerians, who may be affected by it (policy), if finally introduced.
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