ST. JOHN’S, Antigua, The Immigration Department has denied accusations made by the main opposition United Progressive Party (UPP) concerning charter flights from Nigeria, insisting that all the passengers who were allowed into Antigua and Barbuda satisfied all entry requirements.
In a statement, the UPP questioned why the Immigration Department has remained silent in the face of what it called “obvious irregularities” regarding the charter flights and that “government vehicles were seen to be transporting Nigerian travelers to various locations.”
But in a statement, the Immigration Department stated that all of the passengers on the charter flights from Nigeria, who were granted entry to Antigua and Barbuda, satisfied all entry requirements, including declarations of their places of accommodation.
It said they were. Therefore, granted visas on arrival is a procedure the law provides, and that is applied in the cases of many visitors from other countries.
The Immigration Department said it wanted to make it clear that the requirement “to declare their places of accommodation was not waived as claimed” by the opposition party.
Further, the Immigration Department said it is unaware that any of the visitors changed their declared accommodation places.
“In any event, changing the place of accommodation is not a crime, nor does it mean that the visitor cannot be traced if the necessity arises. The Immigration Department is now in possession of the biometric data of all of them. Therefore, this statement from the UPP is unnecessarily accusatory and alarmist. “
The Immigration Department added that while it is not the business of the Department to track how visitors are transported from the airport, inquiries were made of airport security and customs officials. It turned out that a Nigerian, who has been working at the Agriculture Ministry and is assigned a government vehicle to carry out his duties, met friends from a plane on Monday night.
The Immigration Department said it wanted to assure the public that there were no irregularities, so much so that the Government collected EC$25,000 (One EC dollar=US$0.37 cents) in visa fees from the passengers on Monday night’s charter.
It said. Further, many of these passengers are booked on onward flights to other destinations in the Caribbean, and complete records have been maintained of their biometric details. Should any of them attempt to remain in Antigua and Barbuda illegally, they will be easily picked up and deported.
“We assure the public that our vigilance is maintained to protect our country as we are obliged to do,” the Immigration Department added.
Antigua and Barbuda is preparing to hold a general election on January 18.
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