The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Chair of the ECOWAS Mediation and Security Council, Amb. Yusuf Tuggar, has expressed strong concern over reported plans by the United States to impose visa restrictions on all member states of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
Naija News reports that the Minister made this known while speaking at the opening of the 54th Ordinary Session of the Mediation and Security Council at the Ministerial Level held Wednesday in Abuja.
Tuggar warned that such a move would pose a serious threat to trade, diplomacy, and regional development.
“It would be most unfortunate if it comes to pass, because we are a region of opportunities ready to do deals,” he said. “We would like to do deals with the US, but visa restrictions are non-tariff barriers to deals.”
Tuggar, who also serves as Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, described the policy as not only a diplomatic setback but also a missed economic opportunity.
He noted that ECOWAS is home to abundant natural resources, including critical minerals and rare earth elements.
“We possess critical minerals and even rare earths such as Samarium from the Monazite found in my home State of Bauchi,” he stated. “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.”
He urged the United States to reconsider its approach, emphasizing that ECOWAS nations remain open to global partnerships and are ready to engage with any country that allows for ease of travel for legitimate business and diplomatic purposes.
“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 added.
The concerns come amid reports that the United States, under the administration of President Donald Trump, is considering travel bans on a list of African nations, including all ECOWAS member states.
According to a memo, countries such as Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire, and others are being scrutinized for allegedly failing to meet new U.S. State Department benchmarks related to document verification and identity management.
The memo reportedly cites a lack of “competent or cooperative central government authority to produce reliable identity documents” and widespread fraud in some cases as the basis for the proposed visa policy.
Affected countries have been given a 60-day window to comply with the new requirements, but ECOWAS leaders fear the sweeping nature of the policy could deal a blow to regional cooperation and foreign investment.
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