The South African Government has relaxed its visa rules for Nigerian tourists and business people, allowing them to apply for a visa without submitting a passport.

President Cyril Ramaphosa made this announcement on Tuesday during the opening of the 11th session of the Nigeria-South Africa Bi-National Commission (BNC) in Cape Town, which President Bola Tinubu attended.

The announcement was included in a statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga.

According to the statement, President Ramaphosa said that South Africa had simplified its visa processes to make it easier for Nigerian business people and tourists to travel, including offering measures such as five-year multiple entry visas.

“Our efforts to create a favourable environment include our simplified visa process for Nigerian business people to travel to South Africa. Qualifying Nigerian business people can be granted a five-year multiple entry visa,” he was quoted as saying.

Ramaphosa also reaffirmed South Africa’s commitment to removing barriers to greater investment and addressing the challenges faced by businesses in both countries.

“As we mark 30 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations, we see a bright future for our relationship. Our strong bonds of friendship provide a firm foundation for more meaningful economic cooperation.

“Nigeria is host to a number of South African companies. South Africa has always been open to Nigerian business, reflected in the number of investments and operations established in this country.”

“But there is much more we need to do. We need to remove the remaining constraints to greater investment, just as we need to address some of the challenges that companies have experienced,” President Ramaphosa stated.

He also acknowledged the Nigerian government’s reforms aimed at further strengthening the business environment to offer greater assurances to investors, including those from South Africa.

“Our government continues with its efforts to improve the ease of doing business in South Africa. We want to enable investors to operate, trade and pursue opportunities in various sectors.

“We look forward to seeing more Nigerian companies investing in South Africa,” the President added.

The South African leader also emphasized that Africa’s development and the challenges facing countries of the Global South would be firmly placed on the G20 agenda.

The British Government is set to deport popular pastor Tobi Adegboyega to Nigeria after losing his case against deportation at the immigration tribunal.

The UK government had previously shut down his church, SPAC Nation, after investigations revealed a misuse of funds by the church leadership.

It was reported that UK authorities closed the church after Adegboyega failed to properly account for more than £1.87 million in outgoings and operated with a lack of transparency.

According to The Telegraph, an immigration tribunal ruled that Adegboyega should be deported back to Nigeria after investigations.

Adegboyega, who arrived in the UK on a visitor’s visa in 2005, has lived in the country unlawfully ever since.

In 2019, the pastor applied for leave to remain under the European Convention on Human Rights’ (ECHR) right to a family life. His application was initially dismissed by a first-tier immigration tribunal before he appealed.

Having been married to a British woman, Adegboyega claimed that deportation would violate his right to a family life under the ECHR and that the authorities had failed to consider his community work with SPAC Nation.

His legal team described him as a “charismatic” community leader of a large, well-organized church who had “intervened in the lives of many hundreds of young people, predominantly from the black communities in London, to lead them away from trouble.”

Adegboyega also claimed that politicians, including former Prime Minister Boris Johnson and senior figures within the Metropolitan Police, had “lauded” his work, although no testimony from them was submitted to the court.

However, the Home Office argued that “all is not as it seems” and brought him before an immigration tribunal.

According to the tribunal’s judgment, as quoted by The Telegraph, evidence against Adegboyega was taken into account.

The judgment reads: “Various manifestations of [Mr Adegboyega’s] church have been closed down, by either the Charity Commission or the High Court, because of concerns over its finances and lack of transparency.

“Former members of the church have alleged that it is a cult, in which impoverished young people are encouraged to do anything they can to donate money, including taking out large loans, committing benefit fraud, and even selling their own blood.

“It is alleged that the church leadership lead lavish lifestyles and there have, it is said, been instances of abuse. The [Home Office’s] case before us was that all of this needs to be taken into account when evaluating whether [Mr Adegboyega] is in fact of real value to the UK.”

During the tribunal, Adegboyega argued that the claims of his church being a cult were unfounded and that attacks on him and his church were politically motivated. He also maintained that no one had ever faced criminal charges related to his church’s finances and argued that his deportation would violate his human rights.

However, the tribunal was informed that the Charity Commission had concluded “there had been serious misconduct and/or mismanagement in the administration of the charity which was sustained over a substantial period of time.”

The tribunal also found Adegboyega’s evidence to be “hyperbolic in many instances” and that he had “sought to grossly inflate his influence.”

The tribunal concluded, “We are not satisfied that the good work that SPAC Nation undertakes generally would collapse or even significantly suffer should the appellant be required to leave the UK.

“Weighing all of the foregoing in the balance, we conclude that the decision to refuse leave to remain was wholly proportionate.

“Mr Adegboyega seeks to rely on family and private life relationships, all of which have been established whilst he was in the UK unlawfully, and which would survive his return to Nigeria.

“The interference would therefore be limited, and lawful in all the circumstances.”

Nigeria’s President, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has directed the Federal Ministry of Justice and the National Assembly to address concerns raised over the tax bills.

The transmission of the Tax Reform Bills to the National Assembly has sparked widespread criticism, particularly from some governors in the northern region. Critics argue that the bills could harm the northern region and further impoverish Nigerians.

To address these concerns, President Tinubu has instructed the Ministry of Justice to engage with the National Assembly’s leadership to address any issues with the bills.

“It is pertinent to state that the government has nothing sinister to warrant the suggestion that the process is being rushed. In line with the established legislative procedure, the Federal Government welcomes meaningful inputs that can address whatever grey areas there may be in the bill,” Minister of Information and National Orientation Mohammed Idris said in a statement on Tuesday.

“In this vein, President Tinubu has already directed the Federal Ministry of Justice and relevant officials who worked on the drafts to work closely with the National Assembly to ensure that all genuine concerns have been addressed before the bills are passed.”

• ‘Spirit of Democratic Engagement’

Mohammed stressed that President Tinubu remains committed to accountability to the Nigerian people and praised the debates generated by the tax bills as “welcomed, and commendable.”

“It is very inspiring to see Nigerians from all walks of life coming out to express their views and opinions on these matters of critical national importance,” he said. “This is the very essence and meaning of democracy.”

“In the spirit of democratic engagement, there should be no room for name-calling or the injection of unnecessary ethnic and regional slurs into this important national conversation,” the minister added.

Some critics have argued that the bills are targeted at impoverishing certain states, particularly in the north. However, the minister dismissed these claims as “fake news” and “misinformation.”

“The fiscal reforms will not impoverish any state or region of the country, neither will they lead to the scrapping or weakening of any federal agencies,” he stated.

Once passed, he added, these bills are expected to “bring relief to tens of millions of hardworking Nigerians” and “empower and position our states and the 774 local governments for sustainable growth and development.”

“On top of this necessary foundation, the resources being conserved and realized from these reforms will be invested in critical infrastructure (healthcare, education, transportation, digital technology, etc.) and in social investments that will benefit all Nigerians and ensure that no one is left behind,” the statement read.

• Experts Call for Restraint, Patriotism

The Tax Reform Bills have continued to generate significant debate among Nigerians.

Following the heated discussions, Channels Television hosted a town hall event on Monday to examine the pros and cons of the tax bills. The event featured a range of experts, including the Chairman of the Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee, Taiwo Oyedele; former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara; Group CEO of Global Investment and Trade Company, Baba Yusuf; Public Affairs Analyst and Writer, Michael Chibuzor; and former President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria.

Governor Sule Abdullahi of Nasarawa also participated in the discussion.

At the town hall, panelists urged restraint and called for a thorough review of the bills to address any grey areas.

Oyedele, who was instrumental in drafting the bills, highlighted that they contain over 200 “transformative provisions” aimed at fixing the country’s fiscal system and guiding it toward prosperity. He reassured Nigerians that the bills should not be held up by a few contested provisions.

“These Bills have more than 200 transformative provisions to fix our country and set us on the right path to prosperity,” Oyedele said. “We should not allow one or two provisions that we can easily discuss and agree on to become the pain or the bottleneck.”

Dogara also appealed to the northern region, urging them not to condemn President Tinubu over the bills, asserting that the measures are not aimed at undermining the north.

“I want to talk to my brothers in the North. I don’t think this is the time for us to begin to condemn the president and to begin to say that on account of these bills, he is anti-north,” Dogara said.

The Tax Reform Bills have already passed their second reading in the senate, despite calls for their withdrawal.