Kehinde Fajobi
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has announced the removal of a contentious visa clearance requirement that mandated married women to provide a letter of approval from their husbands.
The policy, which sparked widespread criticism on social media, was labelled as outdated and discriminatory.
In response to the backlash, NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi issued a statement on Thursday confirming the change. “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,” Babafemi explained.
He added that the requirement was originally introduced due to “certain unfavourable developments in some source countries” but has now been deemed unnecessary.
“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,” Babafemi stated.