President Donald Trump’s administration is pressing Nigeria and other African nations to shelter Venezuelan convicts and illegal immigrants deported from the U.S., the minister of foreign affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, has revealed
Speaking on Channels TV on Thursday, Mr Tuggar said Nigeria is seriously pushing back against America’s efforts to deport ex-convicts and other illegal Venezuelans, stating that the country had enough problems of its own.
“The U.S is mounting considerable pressure on African countries to accept Venezuelans to be deported from the U.S., some straight out of prisons,” the foreign affairs minister disclosed. “It will be difficult for Nigeria to accept Venezuelan prisoners.”
The foreign affairs minister made the statement to dismiss speculations that the U.S. revised its non-immigrant visa policy for Nigerians as retribution for the country’s participation at the 2025 BRICS, given Washington’s strained relations with member-states Russia and China.
Mr Tuggar said the issue was deeper than met the eye, implying that Nigeria’s refusal to accommodate Venezuelan prisoners and illegals might have triggered America’s wrath in reducing multiple entry five-year visas to only single entry three-month visas.
Mr Tuggar, on television, recounted the lyrics of a 1990 song by Public Enemy rap group that “Flavour Flav has problems of his own, I can’t do nothing for you, man”
“We have enough problems of our own, we cannot accept Venezuelan deportees to Nigeria for crying out loud. We already have 230 million people,” the minister said, rebuffing the U.S..
