Geoffrey Onyeama, Nigeria’s foreign affairs minister, has asked Nigerians to ignore Ms. Abike Dabiri-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.
Also, 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, an AP report says.
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.
However, Onyeama while speaking with journalists in Abuja on Tuesday, March 7, 2018 urged Nigerians to ignore the travel warning.
He told journalists that the US Ambassador to Nigeria and other top officials had denied reports that Nigerians would be affected by the travel ban.
US Embassy Spokesperson Russell K. Brooks responded to a media request for comment on the matter said, “Nigerians with a valid visa and a legitimate purpose are certainly welcome to visit the United States.”
“We encourage all visitors to be clear and consistent about their purpose and cooperate fully with U.S. immigration authorities,” he added.
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.”
Nigeria is not part of President Donald Trump’s revised travel ban. Half its 170 million citizens are Muslims and it’s battling Boko Haram’s Islamic uprising in the northeast.
Additional reports by Associated Press.
