*Say foreign airlines’ ll lose Nigeria’s big market if …
The Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CNB) Governor, Godwin Emefiele have expressed displeasure over the threat of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to impose a visa ban on Nigerians and the plans to stop Emirates Airlines from flying into the country.
The CBN Governor also reminded the UAE that Nigeria is a big market for their business and should not continue threatening the country over disagreements on trapped funds
Sirika and Emefiele stated this during a meeting convened by the leadership of the House of Representatives to resolve the problem of about $700million trapped funds of foreign airlines operating in the country.
Emefiele said the government was making efforts to ensure the money is repatriated to the countries of various airlines, stating measures adopted by the UAE were unnecessary.
Sirika also said that the country does not care if the UAE decides to shut out Nigeria.
The Aviation Minister further said that though he sympathises with the foreign airlines over the trapped funds, there was no ground for threatening Nigeria with such a measure.
He said: “If you disagree, you are supposed to come to us and we sit down and we negotiate and give you what we have in the hope that we finish paying. What I have a problem with are the threats.
Every country would threaten Nigeria that they would not fly to Nigeria again, that would not give Nigeria visa. They would not do operations, they would shut Lagos and Abuja. Please countries have been shut completely and they did well.
There are examples in Asia, the Middle East and even Europe. We are not afraid to be shut. It would make us do much better. It would make our schools and hospitals do better because necessity is the mother of invention.
“We would begin to go to our own hospitals and our schools. When you stop coming to Nigeria, it does not make any sense. We are not threatened.
When you begin Nigeria, a 200 million market which you need, you do not have a case. And I have a problem with that. I have been doing everything to ensure this is paid. But you can only give what you have.”
In his comment at the meeting, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Femi Gbajabiamila, said the issue of blocked or trapped funds of foreign airlines was giving the House a cause for concern, saying that the House would do everything ton resolve the issue
 Governor, Godwin Emefiele have expressed displeasure over the){kind=link}