The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has scrapped its initial requirement that married women must provide a letter of approval from their husbands to obtain a visa clearance certificate.
This decision followed widespread backlash on social media after the agency mandated that married women submit a “letter of approval to travel from their husband, along with his passport photograph” to receive the certificate.
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The NDLEA’s visa clearance certifies individuals with no drug-related convictions in Nigeria, a requirement by certain countries.
Following the criticism, NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi announced that the controversial requirement has been removed.
He said, “The entire procedure for visa clearance issued by the NDLEA as required by some countries is currently undergoing review and the requirement for a married woman to present a letter of approval from her husband to travel is one of the items that the Agency has since jettisoned as a non-mandatory item on the list.
“The inclusion of that item abinitio arose following some ugly developments in some source countries.
“Members of the public are assured that the item has been deleted from the list of requirements in the ongoing review exercise, which will be made public in the coming days.”
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