Trump, Buhari speak on travel ban targeting Nigeria

United States President, Donald Trump says his administration is adding more countries — which Nigeria is said to be among — to its travel ban list to keep America safe.

Speaking at a news conference at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland on Wednesday, Trump said the expansion which will be announced “very shortly” follows happenings around the world.

The US president was silent on the affected countries but the list is said to include Nigeria and six others.

“You see what’s going on in the world, our country has to be safe,” the BBC quoted him as saying. We’re adding a couple of countries….we have to be safe.”

According to the Wall Street Journal, the restriction may be limited to certain types of visas like the business or visitor visa popularly referred to as B1/B2 visa type.

Trump issued the first travel ban — titled “Enhancing Vetting Capabilities and Processes for Detecting Attempted Entry into the United States by Terrorists or other Public-Safety Threats” – which affected seven countries with a Muslim majority – weeks after he assumed office in January 2017.

Barely three months later, he expanded the list of countries affected and even widened it further in September 2017.

However, in a statement on Wednesday, the Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, said: “Yes we have read the news that the Trump administration is planning to add a host of African, Asian and Eastern European countries to its travel restrictions list as reported by the US media.

“We are not going to react to speculations. We urge you to wait for us to see what unfolds under the new policy, its scope, its reach, the implications and its consequences before we react.”