Headline
New UK Visa Policy Aimed At Managing Students’ Social Services – Envoy
Published
2 years agoon
By
Editor
British High Commissioner to Nigeria says the UK government’s new policy on the restriction of foreign student visas is aimed at managing the pressure on social services for scholars.
Montgomery, who said this during an interview with Newsmen in Abuja, explained that the policy was not targeted aimed at discouraging Nigerian students studying in the UK.
According to him, at the moment in the UK, Nigerians desiring to study in the UK have 97 per cent visa approval rate.
He urged Nigerians to see the new visa regime in the UK in a bigger context, a thing which he said is “really a positive for Nigeria and the United Kingdom”.
“Three years ago, there were 20,000 Nigerian students in British higher education institutions, and last year, the number increased to 127,000.
“So, we had a five-fold increase in the number of students from Nigeria coming to UK universities.
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“We are delighted that UK universities continue to attract the best and brightest from Nigeria.
“And in the wider context, last year, the UK granted three million new UK visas of various types including students and other visitors.
“Nigerians alone received 325,000 of those 3 million visas.
“So more than 10 per cent of the visas from the UK are to Nigerian citizens which is fantastic.
“It goes back to the fact that the UK and Nigeria have strong people-to-people links.
“The policy change is about people who are doing non-research degrees coming to the UK as undergraduates, or for a one-year master’s degree programme, and who decide to bring their dependents.
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“We have had a very significant rise in the number of people coming from all around the world, not just from Nigeria.
“This has caused some strain on the UK.
“Sometimes it is difficult to find good accommodation as a student and there is real pressure on housing and social services for students.
“If you looked at it three years ago, only 1,500 dependants of students were coming to the UK from Nigeria, but now it was 52,000 last year.
“I am just trying to put it in proper context, that this is an adjustment.
“The words that are being used in the media to describe the situation are misrepresenting. We are making an adjustment that enables us to manage the demands on services in university towns and elsewhere.
“Nigerians are very successful in acquiring visas. We have a 97 per cent approval rate and so that is the big context,” Montgomery said.
READ ALSO: Why UK Banned Dependents Visa For Nigerians, Others — British High Commissioner
He expressed the UK’s pride in its research institutes and higher education which, he said, were listed among the top hundred universities in the world.
The higher institutions, he said, are very open to students going to study in the UK.
He expressed the belief that Nigerians stand to gain massively from the international exposure and international networks offered by studying in the UK.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the UK Home Office in May announced that from Jan. 2024, undergraduate and master’s students would no longer be allowed to take their dependents along with them to the UK.
The restriction does not apply to students in research programmes.
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Headline
‘They Checked My Instagram’ – Nigerian Lady Breaks Down After Landing In U.S, Denied Entry
Published
20 hours agoon
June 29, 2025By
Editor
A Nigerian businesswoman has taken to social media to share her frustration and heartbreak after being denied entry into the United States, despite holding a valid visa.
In a video recorded on her return flight to Nigeria, the visibly distraught woman revealed that she was travelling to Texas for a trade fair.
She said she possessed a B1/B2 visa, which allows travel for both tourism and business meetings.
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However, upon arrival in the U.S., things took a turn.
“I was denied entrance into the US and that is because my visa [is] a B1–B2 visa which is [for] tourism/business meetings,” she explained tearfully.
“When I landed, I was detained for 24 hours and I was questioned. I told them I was going to exhibit but I did not know any better because the US has your data and your Instagram page.”
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According to her, immigration officials scrutinised her social media activity and private messages, using them to challenge her stated purpose of visit.
“Apparently, my Instagram says different. They even checked all my messages with my customers. The customers I have been telling that we are coming, they can pick up and all of that,” she said through tears.
Headline
Uganda: After 39 Years In Power, 80-year-old Yoweri Museveni To Seek Re-election
Published
1 day agoon
June 29, 2025By
Editor
Ugandan President, Yoweri Museveni, has announced his intention to run in the country’s next presidential election, extending a rule that began nearly four decades ago.
In a post on the X platform late Saturday, Museveni said he had “expressed my interest in running for… the position of presidential flag bearer,” for his ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) party.
The 80-year-old leader has governed Uganda since 1986 after seizing power following a five-year guerrilla war. Under his leadership, the ruling NRM has twice amended the constitution, allowing him to remain in office beyond term and age limits.
READ ALSO:Ugandan President Ignores S’Court Ruling, Approves Law To Try Civilians In Military Courts
According to Reuters, right groups have long accused Museveni of deploying security forces and leveraging patronage to hold onto power, an allegation he denies.
Explaining his decision to seek reelection, Museveni said he aims to grow Uganda’s economy to a ”$500 billion economy in the next five years.” According to the finance ministry, the country’s GDP currently stands at about $66 billion.
Uganda is set to hold presidential and parliamentary elections in January next year. Museveni’s main challenger is expected to be opposition figure and pop star-turned-politician Bobi Wine, who came second in the 2021 election and has declared his intention to contest again in 2026.
Wine, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, rejected the 2021 results, alleging his victory had been stolen through “ballot stuffing, intimidation by security forces and other irregularities.”
Headline
‘Netanyahu Must Go’, Israel’s Ex-PM Calls Leadership ‘Catastrophic’
Published
1 day agoon
June 29, 2025By
Editor
Naftali Bennett, Israel’s former Prime Minister, stated in a televised interview that current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu must leave office.
Bennett refrained from saying whether he plans to challenge the longest-serving leader in the country in an upcoming election.
In an interview with Israel’s Channel 12 that aired on Saturday, Bennett commented, “Netanyahu has been in power for 20 years… that’s too much; it’s not healthy.”
He called attention to Netanyahu’s “heavy responsibility for the divisions in Israeli society,” highlighting the growing rifts that have emerged under Netanyahu’s leadership, especially regarding his handling of the Gaza war since October 2023.
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Bennett, a right-wing leader who joined forces with Netanyahu’s critics to form a coalition that ousted him from office after 12 consecutive years, insisted that “Netanyahu must go.”
However, the fragile coalition government Bennett led, along with current opposition leader Yair Lapid, collapsed after about a year. This led to snap elections, resulting in Netanyahu regaining the premiership with support from far-right and ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties.
Although Bennett has taken time away from politics, there are rumors of a potential comeback, with public opinion polls indicating he may have enough support to defeat Netanyahu again. Currently, no elections are scheduled before late 2026, but early elections are common in Israel.
In his Saturday interview, Bennett claimed credit for laying the groundwork for Israel’s bombardment campaign earlier this month against Iranian nuclear and military sites.
READ ALSO:Netanyahu Vows To Thwart ‘Any Attempt’ By Iran To Rebuild Nuclear Programme
The decision to launch attacks against the Islamic Republic “was very good” and “needed,” said Bennett, claiming that the offensive would not have been possible without the work of his short-lived government.
In Gaza, where Israel has waged war since Hamas’s October 2023 attack, Bennett said the military has displayed “exceptional” performance, but “the political management of the country” was “a catastrophe, a disaster”.
Criticising the Netanyahu government’s “inability to decide,” the former prime minister called for an immediate “comprehensive” agreement that would see all remaining hostages freed from Gaza.
“Leave the task of eliminating Hamas to a future government,” said Bennett, who also evaded several questions about whether he intends to run for office.
AFP
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