The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has denied restricting Nigerians from travelling to the Arab country.

The UAE Mission in Abuja disclosed this in a statement it issued yesterday, which called on the public to always verify the authenticity of such reports and to seek information from the official sources.

It said: "In response to recent press and social media reports regarding purported travel restrictions between the UAE and Nigeria, and in an affirmation of the growing bilateral relations between the two friendly countries, the UAE Embassy in Abuja denies the accuracy of the information contained in these reports.

"At the onset of the COVlD-19 pandemic, the UAE took a number of precautionary measures to combat the virus' spread, including the temporary suspension on issuing UAE visas for all nationalities as of March 17, 2020.

"After entering the recovery phase of the pandemic, the UAE eased some measures on July 7, permitting visitors from various countries to adhere to the necessary precautionary measures, including by showing negative PCR test results within 92 hours of traveling to the UAE. This includes those visiting from Nigeria."

The UAE government, however, noted that the travel between the UAE and Nigeria has remained limited due to the closure of Nigerian airspace, adding that the UAE Embassy in Abuja continues to work closely with the Nigerian government to obtain the necessary approvals to facilitate travel between the two countries.