Diplomatic row: Gbaja says resolution imminent after meeting with Air Peace CEO, Emirates officials

Femi Gbajabiamila, speaker of the house of representatives, says the national assembly has employed “parliamentary diplomacy” to resolve the row with the United Arab Emirates (UAE). 

Gbajabiamila spoke on Tuesday after a closed-door meeting with stakeholders, including Geoffrey Onyema, minister of foreign affairs; Hadi Sirika, minister of aviation; Allen Onyema, CEO of Air Peace, and representatives of Emirates Airline.

TheCable had reported the developments in the protracted row between both countries, the latest of which saw the UAE issue a travel restriction on passengers from Nigeria.

On December 9, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) had reduced Emirates’ flight operations into the country.

The aviation authority had said despite granting Emirates winter flight schedule to operate 21 weekly passenger flights to Nigeria, the UAE’s General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) denied Air Peace equal rights to Sharjah international airport.

Air Peace had requested a slot of three weekly flights from Nigeria to Sharjah Airport, but only one was granted by the UAE’s GCAA.

Addressing journalists after the meeting, Gbajabiamila said the UAE has good diplomatic relations with Nigeria, adding the current row would not be allowed to mar the longstanding friendship.

The speaker said appropriate steps have been taken to resolve the issue, adding that “in the next couple of days, this matter will be sealed, I believe. We’re engaged in parliamentary diplomacy. That’s what we’re doing”.

“We’re not going to allow this to mar the giant strides made between the two countries,” he said.

He said the UAE government had already written Air Peace to allow the airline to operate more flight slots.

In his remarks, Onyema said the meeting was “a fruitful one” and relevant to executive-legislative engagements.