NDLEA removes controversial husband approval requirement from visa clearance process

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has reviewed its visa clearance procedures.

According to a statement by the agency’s spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, on Thursday, October 10, the controversial requirement, which mandated married women to submit an approval letter from their husbands as part of the visa application process, was announced to have been removed as part of an ongoing review of the entire procedure.

The requirement had sparked widespread debate on social media on Wednesday with many criticising the policy, describing it as outdated and discriminatory.

Babafemi’s statement reads: “The entire procedure for visa clearance issued by the NDLEA, as required by some countries, is currently under review, and the requirement for a married woman to present a letter of approval from her husband to travel is one of the items the Agency has since discarded as a non-mandatory requirement. The inclusion of this item initially arose due to certain unfavourable developments in some source countries.

“Members of the public are assured that this item has been removed from the list of requirements in the ongoing review, which will be made public in the coming days.”