Reps probe US ban on immigrants from Nigeria

The house of representatives has resolved to probe the visa ban that the US imposed on Nigerian immigrants.

Last week, the US announced its temporary travel restrictions on immigrants from six countries, including Nigeria.

It said Nigeria was included in the list because of the country’s failure to comply with its established identity-management and information-sharing criteria.

The suspension did not apply to other US visas such as those for official, business, tourism and student travel.

At Tuesday’s plenary session, the lower legislative chamber asked federal government institutions to ensure all relevant issues that led to the restriction are addressed.

After deliberating on a motion sponsored by Tajudeen Yusuf from Kogi state, the house of reps asked one of its committees to follow up with the matter and report back in due course.

The lawmakers blamed the federal government for failing to act on the issue despite being informed about the action  before it was taken.

In a proclamation seen by TheCable, US said it informed affected countries about the action before it was taken.

“The process began on March 11, 2019, when the United States government formally notified all foreign governments (except for Iran, Syria, and North Korea) about the refined performance metrics for the identity-management and information-sharing criteria,” the proclamation read.

“DHS identified the worst-performing countries for further inter-agency review and for an assessment of the potential impact of visa restrictions.”

President Muhammadu Buhari already set up a committee to investigate the new issues raised by the US.