Travel/Tourism
Trump Mulls Heavy Travel Ban on 43 Countries, Exempts Nigeria
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria was exempted from a provisional list of 43 countries that the United States, under the administration of President Donald Trump, is mulling a new travel ban for their citizens.
Business Post reports that out of the 43 countries, 22 of them are in Africa but Nigeria is so far exempted.
According to reports, the draft list featured 43 countries, divided into three categories of travel restrictions – red, orange, and yellow.
The red category of countries whose citizens would be completely barred from entering the United States includes Afghanistan, Bhutan, Cuba, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Venezuela and Yemen.
Another 10 countries in the orange category — Belarus, Eritrea, Haiti, Laos, Myanmar, Pakistan, Russia, Sierra Leone, South Sudan and Turkmenistan — would see their visas sharply restricted.
The New York Times reported that in these cases, affluent business travelers might be allowed to enter, but not people traveling on immigrant or tourist visas.
Citizens from countries on the orange list would also have to undergo in-person interviews to receive a visa.
Another 22 countries on a yellow list would have 60 days to address US concerns or risk being moved up to one of the more stringent categories.
“The officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive internal deliberations, cautioned that the list had been developed by the State Department several weeks ago, and that changes were likely by the time it reached the White House,” the New York Times said.
This is reminiscent of moves carried out by President Trump in his first stint as president, when he banned some Muslim majority counties like Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen — which ignited international outrage and led to domestic court rulings against it.
Iraq and Sudan were dropped from the list, but in 2018 the Supreme Court upheld a later version of the ban for the other nations — as well as North Korea and Venezuela.
Already, the US President has frozen the US refugee admission programme and almost all foreign aid.
Provisional Ban List
Red list
Countries whose citizens would be completely barred from entering the United States include:
1. Afghanistan
2. Bhutan.
3. Cuba.
4. Iran
5. Libya
6. North Korea
7. Somalia
8. Sudan
9. Syria
10. Venezuela
11. Yemen
Orange list
Citizens from countries on the orange list would also have to undergo in-person interviews to receive a visa. These countries include:
12. Belarus
13. Eritrea
14. Haiti
15. Laos
16. Myanmar
17. Pakistan
18. Russia
19. Sierra Leone
20. South Sudan
21. Turkmenistan
Yellow List
They would have 60 days to address US concerns or risk being moved up to one of the more stringent categories. The following countries fall into that category:
22. Angola
23. Antigua and Barbuda
24. Benin
25. Burkina Faso
26. Cambodia
27. Cameroon
28. Cape Verde
29. Chad
30. Republic of Congo
31. Democratic Republic of Congo
32. Dominica
33. Equatorial Guinea
34. Gambia
35. Liberia
36. Malawi
37. Mali
38. Mauritania
39. St. Kitts and Nevis
40. St. Lucia
41. São Tomé and Príncipe
42. Vanuatu
43. Zimbabwe.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
About 14.12 per cent stake in Ikeja Hotel Plc has been acquired by Honeywell Group Limited, a notice on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited has revealed.
Honeywell Group took up the part of the hospitality firm through one of its affiliates known as HGL Real Estate Limited.
Ikeja Hotel, in the disclosure filed with the NGX on July 2, 2026, said the stake comprised 305,323,525 units of its equities.
“Ikeja Hotel hereby notifies the Nigerian Exchange Limited and the general public that it has received notification from HGL Real Estate Limited, an affiliate of Honeywell Group Limited, that it has acquired 305,323,525 units of Ikeja Hotel Plc’s shares, representing 14.12 per cent shareholding in the company,” the notice stated.
Ikeja Hotel is one of Nigeria’s leading hospitality investment and hotel management companies with premium hospitality assets.
It operates two leading hospitality organisations in Lagos, the Sheraton Lagos Hotel and Balmoral Convention Centre.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
About 10 hospitality establishments, including hotels and restaurants, were sealed on Wednesday by officials of the Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA).
The affected businesses are located in different locations in the Alimosho Local Government Area of the metropolis, Business Post learned from a statement from the agency.
It was stated that they were sealed by LASEPA for persistent violations of environmental regulations despite repeated warnings, abatement notices, and several opportunities to comply with the agency’s directives.
According to the notice, the enforcement exercise was carried out in line with the directives of the Lagos State government to ensure strict compliance with environmental laws and to safeguard public health.
The affected facilities were said to have breached various environmental regulations, including noise pollution, air pollution, unlawful discharge of untreated effluent, obstruction of official duties, among others.
LASEPA closed the premises of Granduer Meridian at Obasa Akiniyi Street, Oluwaga, Ipaja for non-compliance with the agency’s directives; Lasola (Spazio Bar), located on Ipaja Road, Fatolu Bus Stop, Ipaja, was sealed for noise pollution and non-compliance with directives; Millennium Restaurant, located at Gate Bus Stop, Ipaja, Ayobo, was shut down for non-compliance with directives; O2 Exquisite Suites & Tower on Jimoh Akinremi Street, Jimoh Bus Stop, Akowonjo, was sealed for non-compliance with directives; and Chirozz Hotel & Suites, located on Samuel Street, Akowonjo, by Vulcanizer Bus Stop, Egbeda, was closed for noise pollution and non-compliance with directives.
In addition, House 7 Hotel, located at Remi Akande Street, Egbeda, was sealed for non-compliance with LASEPA’s directives; House 48 on Isiba Oluwo Street, Egbeda, was sealed for non-compliance with directives; Exclusive Hotel, located at Ishan Kimishe, Akesan Bus Stop, was shut down by non-compliance with directives; Sabola Ventures Limited, Iocated at Km 11, LASU–Isheri Road, Igando, was shut down for operating without evidence of an Effluent Treatment Plant (ETP), and discharging untreated effluent into public drains; and City Int’l Motel, located at Chief Olu-Adegbite Street, off Oladun Street, Council Bus Stop, Idimu, was sealed for non-compliance with directives.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Emirates has become the first airline cargo carrier to deploy the Boeing 777-300ERSF passenger-to-freighter converted aircraft.
The aircraft (A6-EBK) will enter commercial service with a flight from Hong Kong to Dubai carrying over 100 tonnes of cargo, a statement from the airline operator stated.
The converted Emirates Boeing 777-300ERSF offers 100 tonnes of payload capacity and 811 m³ of cargo volume, representing a 25 per cent increase in cargo volume over the Boeing 777-F production freighter.
At 47 pallet positions, the converted aircraft also accommodates 10 additional pallet positions when compared with the Boeing 777-F production freighter, making it ideal for transporting volumetric cargo such as e-commerce goods, which currently constitute around 20 per cent of global air cargo tonnage with further growth projected in the next few years.
The converted Boeing 777-300ERSF is the sixth new freighter, following five Boeing 777-F production freighters, to join Emirates SkyCargo’s fleet since March 2026.
As part of its ambitious expansion strategy, Emirates SkyCargo will also be taking delivery of five additional Boeing 777-F aircraft as well as one additional converted Boeing 777-300ERSF by December 2026.
Emirates SkyCargo will also be introducing three additional converted Boeing 777-ERSFs into its fleet in 2027.
“The induction of the first converted Emirates Boeing 777-300ERSF into operational service represents the next step in the expansion of our fleet and operational agility.
“We are optimising our fleet assets by converting older Boeing 777-300ER passenger aircraft to meet the growing demand for air cargo capacity to transport goods rapidly across the world,” Emirates SkyCargo’s Divisional Senior Vice President, Badr Abbas, commented.
“Combined with our growing fleet of Boeing 777-F production freighters, we have already been able to scale our global freighter network from just over 40 destinations in February this year to 62 destinations currently and growing.
“We are providing our global customers with scalable cargo capacity and ultimate flexibility and connectivity when moving cargo to and through our hub in Dubai,” Abbas added.
