The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Chair of the ECOWAS Mediation and Security Council, Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar, has raised alarm over a proposed expansion of US visa restrictions, which reportedly includes all member states of the Economic Community of West African States.
Speaking on Wednesday, June 18, at the 54th Ordinary Session of the Mediation and Security Council at the Ministerial Level in Abuja, Tuggar described the move as a potential blow to trade, diplomacy, and regional growth.
“It would be most unfortunate if it comes to pass, because we are a region of opportunities ready to do deals,” the minister said.
“We would like to do deals with the US, but visa restrictions are non-tariff barriers to deals.”
Tuggar argued that the region’s economic potential makes cooperation with the US a win-win situation, not one to be undermined by tightened travel policies.
He cited ECOWAS’s resource base as a key attraction, including rare earth elements such as Samarium found in Bauchi State, his home state.
“We possess critical minerals and even rare earths such as Samarium from the Monazite found in my home State of Bauchi,” he said.
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“We in this part of the world are students of the Art of the Deal and have been part of the international trading system even before the modern state system,” Tuggar added.
The minister urged Washington to reconsider its stance, warning that West Africa is open to new partnerships, with or without the US.
“ECOWAS countries and the US have a rare opportunity to create a partnership based on principles of need. We are also a strategic alternative to more distant and politically divergent energy producers,” he said.
“We will do deals for our prosperity; the only question is with whom? Who takes up the opportunities in our region by allowing government officials and technocrats, business executives and entrepreneurs to travel freely back and forth to close the deals?” Tuggar asked.
The visa restriction plan, initiated under US President Donald Trump, would require countries on the list to meet new State Department requirements within 60 days.
The affected nations include Nigeria and nearly all other ECOWAS member states, along with several others from across Africa.
A memo reportedly cited a range of issues behind the proposed ban, including weak documentation systems, unreliable identity verification processes, and pervasive government fraud in some cases.