Nigeria Creates Committee To Tackle Issues That Led To U.S. Visa Ban: Presidency

Graphic: Immigrant Visas Issued FY 2018

LAGOS (REUTERS) - The Nigerian government has created a committee to address the issues that led to a suspension of U.S. immigrant visas to its citizens, the president’s office said on Saturday.

Nigeria was among six countries, four of them in Africa, added to a visa ban announced on Friday in a presidential proclamation.

U.S. officials said the countries failed to meet U.S. security and information-sharing standards, which necessitated the new restrictions.

The U.S. government also said it will stop issuing “diversity visas” to nationals of Sudan and Tanzania.

Nigeria’s information minister told Reuters they had no warning of their inclusion on the list before it appeared in the media.


Reporting by Libby George in Lagos and Felix Onuah in Abuja; Editing by Angus MacSwan