Nigeria’s National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has scrapped its requirement for married women to present a letter of approval from their husbands when applying for a visa clearance certificate.
The decision followed widespread backlash on social media over the policy.
The visa clearance, issued by the NDLEA, certifies individuals as having no drug-related convictions in Nigeria and is a prerequisite for travel to certain countries.
The agency had initially mandated married women to submit “a letter of approval to travel from their husband, along with his passport photograph.”
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Following the public outcry, NDLEA spokesman Femi Babafemi announced that the policy had been withdrawn.
“The requirement for a married woman to present a letter of approval from her husband to travel is no longer mandatory and has been removed,” Babafemi stated, noting that the agency is reviewing its entire visa clearance process.
Babafemi explained that the original inclusion of the rule was due to concerns from certain countries but emphasized that it is no longer part of the requirements.
The NDLEA plans to release an updated list of clearance procedures soon.
(Edited by Oludare Mayowa; omayowa@globalfinancialdigest.com; Newsroom: +234 8033 964 138)
