The Nigerian government on Wednesday said it would wait to see the scope, reach, implications and consequences of the US President Donald Trump administration’s plan to add Nigeria among seven countries subjected to travel restrictions.
Presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu, while reacting said the Federal Government would not respond to speculations.
“Yes, we have read the news that the Trump administration is planning to add a host of African, Asian and Eastern European countries to its travel restrictions list as reported by the U.S. media.
“We are not going to react to speculations. We urge you to wait for us to see what unfolds under the new policy, its scope, its reach, the implications and its consequences before we react,” Shehu said.
A report from The Wall Street Journal quoted officials who had seen the list as saying that the Trump administration plans to add Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, to a group of nations subject to travel restrictions, along with others in Africa and Asia.
The new restrictions would apply to travelers and immigrants from Belarus, Eritrea, Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar, Nigeria, Sudan and Tanzania.
The countries wouldn’t necessarily face blanket bans on travel to the U.S., but could have restrictions placed on specific types of visas, such as business or visitor visas, reported the newspaper quoting an administration officials.
Some countries could be banned from participating in the diversity visa lottery programme, which awards green cards to people in countries with low levels of immigration to the U.S.
President Trump has called for an end to that programme, saying it lets undesirable people into the U.S., and he has proposed reorienting the existing visa system toward skilled workers instead.
The officials said the list isn’t final, as the White House was still debating whether to include one or two of the countries as of Tuesday.
