The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has announced that married women will no longer be required to present a letter of approval from their husbands to obtain visa clearance for international travel.
In a statement released on Thursday via X by the agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, it was revealed that this decision followed a reassessment of the necessity of the requirement.
The statement noted that the initial inclusion of this requirement was in response to certain developments in specific countries, which had necessitated stricter oversight of travel clearances.
However, following an ongoing review of visa clearance procedures, the NDLEA has concluded that the requirement is no longer essential and has subsequently removed it.
The agency also assured the public that the ongoing review of visa clearance requirements would soon be completed, with the updated list of necessary documentation to be made available in the coming days.
The statement reads, “The entire procedure for visa clearance issued by the NDLEA as required by some countries is currently undergoing review and the requirement for a married woman to present a letter of approval from her husband to travel is one of the items that the Agency has since jettisoned as a non-mandatory item on the list.
“The inclusion of that item abinitio arose following some ugly developments in some source countries. Members of the public are assured that the item has been deleted from the list of requirements in the ongoing review exercise, which will be made public in the coming days.”