US Visa: Nigeria won't succumb to Trump's pressure to accept Venezuelan deportees - FG

The Nigerian government has vowed not to cower to pressure from the President Donald Trump administration, which is seeking to send Venezuelan deportees from the United States to the West African nation.

The Nigerian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Amb. Yusuf Tuggar disclosed this while appearing on Channels Television's Politics Today programme on Thursday, July 10, 2025.

According to Tuggar, Nigeria has a plethora of challenges to contend with, and therefore, won't be a dumping ground for Venezuelan prisoners deported from the US amid Trump’s crackdown on undocumented migrants.

Recall that President Bola Tinubu joined other world leaders at the recently concluded BRICS Summit, held by the 11-member economic and political bloc with significant Chinese influence, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Meanwhile, Trump announced on the final day of the summit his decision to impose an extra 10 per cent trade tariff on “anti-American” BRICS nations – including China, India and Nigeria.

However, Tuggar said the tariff hike threat might not be connected to Nigeria's participation in the BRICS Summit.

“The issue of tariffs may not necessarily have to do with us participating in the BRICS meeting," the Minister stated.

“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 prisons.

“It would be difficult for countries like Nigeria to accept Venezuelan prisoners into Nigeria. We have enough problems of our own; we cannot accept Venezuelan deportees to Nigeria. We already have 230 million people.”

Earlier in the week, the US government announced that Nigerians applying for non-immigrant and non-diplomatic U.S. visas (i.e., B1/B2 for tourism and business, F1 for students, etc.) will now receive a single-entry visa valid for only three months.

The sudden policy shift marked a significant reduction from the five-year, multiple-entry arrangement that had been in place hitherto.

Commenting on the development, Tuggar said the Tinubu administration has opened talks with its US counterpart regarding the new restrictions.

Contrary to the US claim of reciprocity, the Minister reiterated that Nigeria still maintains a five-year, multiple-entry visa for American travellers.

At the same time, he described as regrettable the fresh visa restrictions imposed on Nigerian travellers by the United Arab Emirates (UAE), disclosing that Dubai officials haven't reached out to Nigeria on the development.