Abuja, July 11 (IANS) Nigerian Minister of Foreign Affairs Yusuf Tuggar has said that Washington is exerting “considerable pressure” on African countries, including Nigeria, to accept Venezuelan nationals being deported from the United States, some of whom are directly from prison.
Speaking in an interview with the local Channels Television on Thursday night, Tuggar said Nigeria could not give in to such pressure, signalling a new layer of complexity in diplomatic relations between Washington and African nations, Xinhua news agency reported.
The foreign minister affirmed Nigeria’s firm stance against accepting such deportees, noting the existing socio-economic challenges in Africa’s most populous country.
“It will be difficult for a country like Nigeria to accept Venezuelan prisoners into Nigeria. We have enough problems of our own,” he said, adding that with a population of more than 200 million people, Nigeria is not in a position to accommodate foreign deportees, especially those with potential criminal backgrounds.
He said that acceding to such requests could set an unsustainable precedent for future deportations.
The minister also suggested potential links between this pressure and recent U.S. policy shifts affecting Nigeria, saying the new 10 per cent tariffs imposed by the Trump administration on Nigerian goods, as well as the revised single-entry, three-month visa validity for Nigerian citizens, might be consequences of Nigeria’s refusal to accept the deportees.
He disagreed with earlier speculations that these measures were related to Nigeria’s engagement with the BRICS summit or its e-visa policy, which Tuggar dismissed as a “false claim of reciprocity from the United States.”
The official said that Nigeria remains committed to diplomatic engagement with the United States, citing ongoing discussions aimed at navigating these contentious issues and fostering mutually beneficial economic partnerships, while emphasising the importance of dialogue in resolving bilateral differences.
–IANS
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