Lagos — The Federal Government yesterday, denied stopping the issuance of the 5-year non-immigrant multiple-entry visa for United States of American, USA, citizens, a policy the US cited as reason for the latest visa restrictions against Nigerians.
This came as the US continued its tight immigration policies with the introduction of a new $250 Visa Integrity Fee targeting mostly non-immigrant visa applicants, including students, tourists and workers visas.
It will be recalled that recently, several countries, including the US, the United Kingdom, Canada and the United Arab Emirates, UAE have introduced stricter visa restrictions against Nigerians as part of their immigration crackdown and growing protectionism among the world superpowers.
Countries that have so far restricted foreign travels for Nigerians have cited concerns around national security, economic concerns and public health issues.
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Just three days ago, the US released a new visa policy, reducing non-immigrant and non-diplomatic visa duration for Nigerians to three months with single-entry permitted.
Our stance, by FG
Faulting the US claims of reciprocity as the reason for its current visa policy towards Nigeria, the Presidency said that the claim does not accurately reflect the actual situation.
In a statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, the presidency expressed readiness to continue to engage with the US to address the unfavourable restrictions in a just and fair manner.
He said: "Immediately after assuming office, President Tinubu's administration issued a service-wide directive that Nigeria implements all bilateral agreements with other nations and adhere to the principle of reciprocity in diplomatic relations.
"We want to reiterate that the US government's claim of reciprocity as the reason for its current visa policy towards Nigeria does not accurately reflect the actual situation.
"The Nigerian government has not deviated from granting US citizens a 5-year multiple-entry non-immigrant visa, just as the US has continued to grant the same to Nigerians.
"The 90-day single-entry visa validity period only applies to the newly introduced e-Visas, a short-term visa category for tourists and business people who may not wish to undergo the standard visa application process and wait.
"The e-visa replaces the now obsolete Visa-on-arrival, which was inefficient and often used as a means of extortion. The e-visa is a fast, online process that does not require the applicant to go to the embassy. Applicants receive the e-Visa within 48 hours of submitting their application.
"The e-visa policy aligns with President Tinubu's efforts to boost investment, trade, and tourism in the country, as well as promote the ease of doing business for non-nationals. Moreover, e-visas are a widely adopted global policy in dozens of countries."
He said although Nigeria has an e-visa policy for citizens of the US and several other countries, the US has not reciprocated this gesture for Nigerians.
"In the spirit of cooperation, mutual understanding, and partnership that have characterised the relationship between Nigeria and the United States over the decades, the Tinubu-led administration will continue to dialogue and engage with US authorities to resolve any issues that have led to the recent developments," it added.
US slams $250 visa integrity fee on tourists, students, workers
The new rule, which is part of the new policies covered under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, and signed into law by President Donald Trump on July 4, forms part of a broader push to tighten immigration enforcement and ensure compliance with US visa regulations.
The new policy comes on the heels of the newly introduced visa restrictions by the Trump administration, which has now limited non-immigrant and non-diplomatic visas for Nigerian travelers to a duration of three months with a single-entry requirement, under the reciprocity policy.
Meanwhile, the new mandatory fee structure introduced by the US government is scheduled to take effect in 2026 and would be charged in addition to the existing visa application fees.
In addition to the Visa Integrity Fee, the bill introduced several non-waivable travel-related surcharges. These include a $24 I-94 fee, a $13 Electronic System for Travel Authorization, ESTA, fee for Visa Waiver Program travellers, and a $30 Electronic Visa Update System (EVUS) fee for Chinese nationals holding 10-year B-1/B-2 visas.
According to the rule, the surcharge will apply to visa categories, including B-1/B-2 (tourist/business), F and M (students), H-1B (workers), and J (exchange visitors).
Under the new rule, only diplomatic applicants in categories A and G would be exempted. The law states unequivocally that in fourteen instances described in the legislation as a recurring surcharge, the amount is indexed to inflation and will be adjusted annually based on the Consumer Price Index, CPI.
For fiscal year 2025, the fee will be $250 or a higher amount set by the Department of Homeland Security. Beginning in 2026, it will increase each year in line with inflation.
"During fiscal year 2026, and during each subsequent fiscal year, the amount shall be equal to the sum of the most recently concluded fiscal year [amount] and the percentage by which the Consumer Price Index exceeds [that of] the preceding calendar year.
"Fees required to be paid under this subsection shall not be waived or reduced. This fee shall be required by any alien issued a non-immigrant visa at the time of such issuance," the rule said.
Onuesoke supports US visa restrictions
Meanwhile, a former Delta State gubernatorial aspirant and Chairman/CEO of DAS Energy Services Limited, Chief Sunny Onuesoke, has thrown his weight behind the new US non-immigrant visa policy for Nigerians, calling it a wake-up call for African nations to focus on fixing their internal systems.
Speaking on telephone interview, Onuesoke said: "If Nigeria's medical sector is working, do Nigerians need to go to the US for treatment? If there are great hospitals in all 36 states and the FCT, who would want to leave the country for medical care? This policy should force us to reflect. We need to fix our country and give our people a reason to stay.
"We have so much in Nigeria, natural resources, tourism attractions, business opportunities, yet everyone is desperate to leave. The Japa syndrome will not end until we create a country that works," he said.
If not for Tinubu, Buhari wouldn't have won APC primary -- Presidency
By Johnbosco Agbakwuru
ABUJA -- The Senior
Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Temitope Ajayi, has stated that former President Muhammadu Buhari would not have secured the All Progressives Congress, APC, presidential ticket without the pivotal support of President Bola Tinubu.
Ajayi's remarks follow comments made by the immediate past Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, Boss Mustapha, during a book launch authored by Mallam Garba Shehu, former Senior Special Assistant to President Buhari on Media and Publicity.
At the event, Mustapha said that no single individual was responsible for Buhari's emergence as President.
Mustapha highlighted that prior to the 2015 elections, Buhari commanded a loyal following of 12.5 million votes, while the legacy parties that formed the APC contributed an additional three million votes.
This combined strength, he said, resulted in the approximately 15 million votes that enabled Buhari to defeat then-incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
Responding via his X handle @TheTope_Ajayi, Ajayi criticized Mustapha's comments, describing them as a distortion of recent political history.
"Let us even leave the general election that then-General Buhari won to become president in 2015. There is no way he would have won the election to be president without first becoming the presidential candidate of his party, APC," Ajayi stated.
He further emphasized that Buhari would not have clinched the APC primary at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Lagos, in 2014, without Tinubu's intervention.
According to Ajayi, Tinubu was instrumental in rallying APC governors and South West delegates to support Buhari's candidacy.
Ajayi added: "Every effort and support that made it possible for President Buhari to win should never be diminished. Buhari had his 12 million captive Northern votes, yet he lost three presidential elections in 2003, 2007, and 2011."
Some political observers point to the actions of Buhari loyalists, former governor Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna State, and the former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN, as evidence of growing opposition to Tinubu within the APC.
It was gathered that some of Tinubu's supporters are concerned that former President Buhari has not intervened to restrain el-Rufai and Malami, who are alleged to be opposing Tinubu's re-election efforts.
FG to APC govs: Preach Renewed Hope agenda in your states
By Joseph Erunke
The Federal Government
has called on commissioners of information in states controlled by the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, to keep citizens informed of the positive impact of President Bola Tinubu's renewed hope agenda.
Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mallam Mohammed Idris, who spoke yesterday, in Minna, Niger State, at the opening ceremony of a two-day Conference of Commissioners for Information in APC states,,said President Tinubu had followed through with the eight-point agenda encapsulated in his campaign documents.
The event, which was organised by the Progressives Governors' Forum, aims to amplifying the work being done by the APC-led administration at both the federal and sub-national levels.
Idris, who noted that Tinubu has taken some far-reaching decisions to restructure the country for the betterment of citizens, noted that citizens would not know the achievements of the government if information managers in the states do not project them.
He said: "Let me re-emphasise that President Tinubu did not embark on his presidential campaign with lofty slogans. He presented to Nigerians a well-thought-out Eight-Point Renewed Hope Agenda, which is a blueprint for economic revitalization, national development, and inclusive growth. That agenda is now being steadily implemented across Ministries, Departments, and Agencies, with discipline, prudence, fortitude, and a deep commitment to the welfare of Nigerians."
"One of the boldest and most consequential decisions of this administration, which is the removal of the fuel subsidy, was a painful but necessary reform. Beyond saving the economy from fiscal collapse, this decision has significantly blocked areas of leakage and waste in our economy, thereby leading to an increase in funding for the development of mega infrastructure such as the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Superhighway, Sokoto-Badagry Superhighway, Calabar-Abuja Super Highway, Kaduna-Kano Standard Gauge Railway, Abuja-Kaduna-Kano Expressway, among others.
"We are also witnessing steady investment in the provision of social services and the increase in monthly allocations to state governments, which is enabling them to embark on projects that are already having transformative impacts across sectors - from roads to schools, hospitals to agriculture."
2027: INEC receives 7 more applications, to open party registration portal
By Omeiza Ajayi
ABUJA: The Independent
National Electoral Commission, INEC, said it has received seven additional applications for party registration, adding it would soon open a political portal registration portal.
INEC National Commissioner and Chairman of its Information and Voter Education Committee, Mr. Sam Olumekun disclosed this in a statement, yesterday, in Abuja.
He said: "At its regular weekly meeting held today, the commission received further update on additional requests from associations seeking registration as political parties. Since last week, seven more applications have been received, bringing the total number so far to 129. All the requests are being processed.
"Unlike the manual method used in previous registration, the commission is introducing a political party registration portal which is a module in our Party Financial Reporting and Auditing System PFRAS.
"This will make the process faster and seamless. In the next one week, the commission will conclude the final testing of the portal before deployment. Thereafter, the next step for associations that meet the requirements to proceed to the application stage will be announced. The commission will also issue guidelines to facilitate the filing of applications using the PFRAS.
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"Meanwhile, the list of the new associations has been uploaded to our website and other platforms for public information."
Oshiomhole on PSC Training Institute bill:
We can't rubber stamp everything,'
By Henry Umoru
ABUJA- CHAIRMAN,
Senate Committee on Interior, Senator Adams Oshiomhole(APC, Edo North), has raised the alarm that the Senate must not serve as a "rubber stamp" for duplicative institutions.
Oshiomhole's remarks came on the heels of serious bashing from the public that the Senate has become a rubber stamp body, that agrees with everything that the Executive arm of threw at it.
Meanwhile, the Senate has passed the Police Service Commission Training Institute (Establishment) Bill, 2025 (SB. 564). The bill was read the third time and passed.
Speaking, yesterday, during the consideration of the Report of the Committee on Police Affairs on the Training Institute (Establishment) Bill, 2025 (SB. 564) presented by Senator Yunus Yunus(APC, Oyo Central) on behalf of the Chairman, Senator Mallam-Madori Abdulhamid (APC, Jigawa East), the former President, Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, who took a swipe at the bill, questioned the rational behind the establishment of a training institute for a commission that employs few people and already has limited operational scope.
Oshiomhole said: "This House can't rubber stamp everything. Mr President sir, with profound respect, I think we have to be careful over multiplications and duplications of institutions that will add no value whatsoever.
"With due respect, I will like to ask: beside the Nigeria Police Force, how many people are employed under the Police Service Commission, PSC, besides the commissioners whose business is to regulate and oversight the affairs of recruitment, training for the senate to set up a committee to establish an institute to train a commission which may sometimes not even exist?
"In the not-too-distant past, the idea of PSC was even abolished and they created the Ministry of Police Affairs.
"Now you have Ministry of Police Affairs and they will train their people as civil servants, then you have PSC to train who?
"This country should invest in training police men and women and not police service commission."
Responding, Akintunde Yunus who clarified that the PSC is a constitutionally recognised body and has not been replaced or scrapped in favour of any ministry, said: "The PSC in existence. It was not cancelled to create the Ministry of Police Affairs.
"There is quite a world of difference between the police force and the PSC.
"This senate has passed a training institute for the Nigeria Police Force earlier this year. The one we are requesting for now is PSC Training Institute."
On his part, Senator Abdul Ningi(PDP, Bauchi Central), said: "We must be guided by our rules. This is a bill at the second reading. The argument canvassed by Senator Oshiomhole, as good as they look, have gone beyond that."
Meanwhile, the Senate passed the PSC Trainning Institute (Establishment) Bill, 2025 (SB. 564), after it was the third time.
