The U.S. Embassy in Nigeria says there’s no need for Nigerians to cancel travel plans to the United States and says suggestions of a policy change negatively affecting Nigerians are incorrect.
Spokesperson Russell K. Brooks responded to an Associated Press request for comment after a Nigerian government statement on Monday, March 6, 2017 said some Nigerians with valid multiple-entry U.S. visas have been barred entry and put on the next plane home.
Abike Dabiri-Erewa, President Muhammadu Buhari’s senior special assistant on foreign affairs and diaspora, on Monday, advised Nigerians with no urgent reason to visit the US to suspend their travel plans pending when there is clarity on Donald Trump’s immigration policy.
Earlier Tuesday, Nigeria’s Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project said Nigeria’s government “must stand up to Trump and defend Nigerians’ internationally recognized right to freedom of movement.”
Possessing a visa has never automatically guaranteed entry, Brooks notes, but “Nigerians with a valid visa and a legitimate purpose are certainly welcome to visit the United States.”
He says “we encourage all visitors to be clear and consistent about their purpose and cooperate fully with U.S. immigration authorities.”
Nigeria’s foreign affairs minister, Geoffrey Onyeama has asked Nigerians to ignore Ms. Abike Dabire’-Erewa’s travel warning saying that those with valid travel documents and plans to visit the United States to shun the travel warning by one of President Muhammadu Buhari’s aides.
Nigeria is not part of President Donald Trump’s revised travel ban. Half its over 180 million citizens are Muslims and it’s battling Boko Haram’s Islamic uprising in the northeast.
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