Nigeria will not bow to pressure from the Trump administration to accept Venezuelan deportees or third-country prisoners from the US, Foreign Minister Yusuf Tuggar has vowed, as per a BBC report.
His comments follow threats from Washington to restrict visas and hike tariff on countries who do not comply with its deportation policy. “It will be unfair for Nigeria to accept 300 Venezuelan deportees,” he said, suggesting that the recent visa curbs on Nigerian travellers by the US was not “reciprocal” but a pressure tactic. “You will be the same person that will castigate us if we acquiesce to accepting Venezuelan prisoners into Nigeria,” he added.
Earlier this week, the US Department of State said as part of a “global reciprocity realignment”, nearly all non-immigrant and non-diplomatic visas issued to citizens of Nigeria, as well as those of Cameroon and Ethiopia, would now be single-entry and valid for only three months.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump has threatened to hit countries which side with the policies of the Brics alliance that go against US interests with an extra 10 per cent tariff. The Brics grouping of 11 nations is designed to challenge the political and economic power of the West.
Last year, the list of Brics members expanded beyond the original group of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Nigeria is not a full Brics member but became its ninth partner country back in January.
Earlier on July 11, the US embassy in Abuja denied that the Trump administration was engaging in tit-fortat clampdowns on visas as punishment for Nigeria not giving in to their demands. The real reason for the visa restrictions, it said, were “technical and security benchmarks” that had to be respected.
Yusuf also said the threat of tariff hikes did not necessarily have to do with us participating in BRICS. “You have to also bear in mind that the US is mounting considerable pressure on African countries to accept Venezuelans to be deported from the US, some straight out of prison,” he added.
“It will be difficult for a country like Nigeria to accept Venezuelans prisoners into Nigeria. We have enough problems of our own, we cannot accept Venezuelan deportees to Nigeria, for crying out loud,” he concluded.
