The Presidency has reacted to the immigrant visa ban placed by President Donald Trump of the United States on Nigeria and five other countries.
Femi Adesina, spokesman to President Muhammadu Buhari, in a statement on Saturday, noted that the restriction is the suspension of the issuance of “immigrant visas” to Nigerian passport holders only.
The statement continued, “This suspension shall come into effect on 21st February 2020. The suspension does not apply to other U.S visas such as those for official, business, tourism and student travel.
“The DHS states the suspension of “immigrant visas” became necessary following a review and update of the methodology (performance metrics) adopted by the U.S Government to assess compliance of certain security criteria by foreign governments. This resulted in certain enhancements on how information is shared between Nigeria and the U.S.
“Nigeria remains committed to maintaining productive relations with the United States and its international allies especially on matters of global security. Accordingly, President Muhammadu Buhari has established a committee, to be chaired by the Hon. Minister of Interior, to study and address the updated U.S. requirements. The committee will work with the U.S Government, INTERPOL and other stakeholders to ensure all updates are properly implemented.”
