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NGF reacts to claims Fayemi was denied US visa
Nigeria Governors’ Forum has described as mischievous reports by an online medium claiming that its chairman and Governor of Ekiti State, Kayode Fayemi, was denied an entry visa by the United States of America.
A statement on Saturday by the Forum’s Head of Media, Abduk-Razaque Bello-Barkindo, clarified that the governor’s visa application was not denied.
“Governor Fayemi, like every other Nigerian citizen intending to visit the US, applied for a visa, attended his interview and was requested to pay the statutory visa acceptance fee by the US Consulate,” he said.
“Anyone conversant with US Visa application procedure knows that applicants are now routinely taken through administrative processing before visas are issued.
“When the American Embassy indicated that the visa may not be ready by Friday, November 8, Dr Fayemi retrieved his passport because of a crucial speaking engagement at the AfDB Africa Investment Forum in South Africa on Monday, November 11 2019.”
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The NGF maintained that there was no basis to deny Fayemi visa as he had just returned from a trip to America.
The NGF said, “It is imperative to mention here that the NGF Chairman, (Fayemi), only just returned from the United States where he attended the United Nation’s General Assembly where the NGF organized a high-level side meeting on the 27th of September 2019.
“It is also important, at this juncture, to caution journalists on the rush to print, as blatant mischief, laden with glaring untruths as contained in the 247Ureports narrative, can drag the journalism profession to disrepute.
“Knowing Dr Fayemi, it is virtually impossible to associate him with the uncouth behavior that 247Ureports dramatised.”
The NGF explained that the trip to the United States was at the instance of the Aliko Dangote Foundation in concert with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and it is on course.
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