Adeyinka Asekun, Nigeria’s high commissioner to Canada, says the country is unfairly denying a lot of Nigerians visas including students.
NAN reports that Asekun stated this during a webinar on Nigeria’s 60th Independence Anniversary organised by the mission on Thursday evening.
He expressed the hope that the issue would be addressed in the draft bilateral agreement, which both countries have been working on, for better treatment of Nigerians in that regard.
The envoy said many Nigerians are eager to study in Canada but were denied the opportunity, adding that he hoped the situation would change when the agreement came into effect.
However, Asekun said Nigeria and Canada have shared a long-lasting and mutually beneficial relationship in various areas since independence in 1960.
He acknowledged the Canadian government’s assistance to Nigeria, including its contribution to the establishment of a laboratory in Lagos in 2014 for effective management of infectious disease following the Ebola outbreak.
Rob Oliphant, the parliamentary secretary to the Canadian minister of foreign affairs, said there are 11,000 Nigerian students in Canada.
In a goodwill message on behalf of the minister, Oliphant also highlighted the strong relationship between Nigerian and Canada, although he did not speak on the visa issue mentioned by the ambassador. NAN
