Why US may lift visa ban on Nigeria in one month – Onyeama

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, has given indications that the United States Government may lift its visa ban on Nigeria in about a month’s time.

Onyeama made the disclosure on the sidelines of the 5th Nigeria-United States Bi-National Commission (BNC) in Washington DC, United States.

Nigeria, Eritrea, Myanmar and Kyrgyzstan, including Sudan and Tanzania, were countries that the United States slammed with visa ban last week on account of performance metrics for identity-management and information-sharing criteria.

The United States was piqued that there was a lack of a credible background investigation system that security groups like Interpol can rely on in vetting and certifying the origin of prospective immigrants to the United States from the affected countries.

Following the ban, President Muhammadu Buhari immediately set up a committee to look into the issues that led to the issuance of the ban on immigrant visas to Nigerians.

In line with the presidential directive, Onyeama said that the Nigerian Government has taken serious steps to address issues raised by the United States in issuing the visa restrictions.

Onyeama stated that after productive deliberations on the visa ban, the United States Government assured Nigeria that it was possible to lift the ban if the Federal Government resolved the issues in one month.

He added that the United States was apprehensive over variations of the Nigerian data system and third party involvement in the management of the passport system, particularly information and data on lost and stolen passports.