(2 minutes read)
· Nigeria urged the United States to abandon new visa
restrictions on the West African countries from February 21, 2020.
· The ban on six countries including Nigeria had come
unexpectedly. Nigeria is the most populous and industrialized country
in Africa and the US has considerable business interests in the region
Nigeria urged the United States to abandon new visa restrictions on
the West African countries from February 21, 2020. Recently, U.S.
President Donald Trump included Nigeria, Tanzania, Eritrea and Sudan
in an expanded version of his travel ban list early this month, since
according to the US, the six countries failed to meet U.S. security
and information-sharing standards.
In a statement issued by the Nigeria’s interior ministry, it has
notified the request through the U.S. ambassador in Abuja and
highlighted how important Nigeria to the United States in trade,
investment and other related matters and hoped that the ban was
temporary since Nigeria had complied with most of the concerns raised
by the United States. The US Ambassador, while non committal on
lifting the ban said that his country is determined to continue
collaborating with Nigeria.
The ban on six countries including Nigeria had come unexpectedly.
Nigeria is the most populous and industrialized country in Africa and
the US has considerable business interests in the region. The US
initially in 2017 imposed ban on nearly all immigrants and travelers
from seven countries with majority Muslim populations. The policy was
revised amid court challenges, but the U.S. Supreme Court ultimately
upheld it in 2018.
