The Nigerian government has reduced the amount payable by citizens of the United States seeking visas into the country.
This was disclosed in a statement released by Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, on Wednesday in Abuja.
The move comes 24 hours after US authorities increased the cost of visa application for Nigerians.
The statement reads, “The attention of the Ministry of Interior has been drawn to the introduction of reciprocity of visa fees by the United States of America.
“The ministry acknowledges that there were engagements with the United States Embassy on the issue and in the aftermath, a committee was set up to conduct due diligence in line with the ministry’s extant policy on reciprocity of visa fees.
“The committee had concluded its assignment and submitted a report but the issuance of authorisation for its recommendations was delayed due to transition processes in the ministry at the policy level.
“The Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, has approved the decrease of visa charges payable by US citizens in line with reciprocity policy as recommended by the committee.
“Accordingly, the Comptroller-General of Nigeria Immigration Service, Muhammad Babandede, has been directed to implement the decrease in Nigeria’s visa charges to US citizens with effect from Thursday, August 29, 2019.”