Nigeria’s Ambassador to Ethiopia, Mr. Bankole Adeoye, has alerted Nigerians of the country’s strict enforcement of its currency declaration law which allows passengers only a maximum of $3,000 through its airports and not the widely obtained $10,000.
Adeoye, who is also Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the African Union (AU), revealed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Addis Ababa.
The Ambassador therefore advised Nigerians travelling to that country to adhere to its currency declaration law in order to avoid sanctions.
“Since my arrival as Nigerian envoy here barely a month ago, the issue of confiscation of valuables, including foreign exchange of Nigerians in transit on Ethiopian Airline, has been of great concern to us.
“The money is in thousands of dollars from the reports I have received and we have engaged the government of Ethiopia. I have personally raised it in the meeting between our Foreign Minister, Geoffrey Onyeama, and his Ethiopian counterpart.
“The Ethiopian rules and laws guarantee that you must not travel with more than three thousand dollars or its equivalent in cash while on transit and this is for passengers sleeping overnight in Ethiopia.
“This does not affect those transiting only through the airport and not going into the city.
“We are working very hard to ensure that all the monies confiscated are returned and if they (offender) have to pay a fine because there is no ignorance in law, then they will,” he said.
The envoy said there was the need for Nigerians to adhere to rules and regulations of host countries as going contrary could become an “irritant’’ in relations between both countries.
According to him, the greatest advantage the country has is that Ethiopian Airline is one of the largest operating airlines in the Nigerian aviation market.
“We have engaged with the airline authority and its government and we have been given the assurances that they are looking into the issue.
“Another way out of the situation is to get it right before Nigerians leave the country on transit through Ethiopia,’’ he said.
Adeoye said Nigeria and Ethiopia would collaborate on sensitisation with a view to creating more awareness to ensure that Nigerians were not caught violating the rules.
“We intend to use the same formula used in the yellow vaccination card awareness to let Nigerians be aware that unlike most other countries in the world where the maximum you can carry in cash when travelling is $10, 000, it is not so in Ethiopia,’’ he said.
