Nigeria Rejects Pressure from Trump Administration to Take in Venezuelan Deportees – Tuggar
Nigeria will not succumb to pressure from former U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration to accept deported Venezuelan nationals, especially those with criminal records, Foreign Affairs Minister Yusuf Tuggar has stated.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Thursday, Tuggar emphasized that Nigeria is already grappling with numerous domestic challenges and cannot become a dumping ground for Venezuelan prisoners being removed from the United States under Trump’s intensified crackdown on undocumented immigrants.
“Our country has its own pressing issues. Accepting deportees, especially ex-convicts from Venezuela, is not something we can accommodate. Nigeria already has a population of 230 million,” Tuggar asserted.
His remarks followed President Bola Tinubu’s participation in the BRICS Summit held from July 6 to 7, 2025, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The summit brought together leaders of the 11-member BRICS+ bloc, which aims to shift global power dynamics away from Western dominance.
During the summit’s closing session, Trump announced a 10 percent tariff increase on BRICS nations he labeled “anti-American,” targeting countries like China, India, and Nigeria. However, Tuggar downplayed the notion that Nigeria’s involvement in the summit triggered the tariff threat.
“The tariff move may not necessarily be tied to our BRICS participation,” he noted. “What’s more concerning is the pressure on African nations to take in Venezuelan deportees, many of whom are former inmates. That’s a line Nigeria won’t cross.”
Meanwhile, the Tinubu-led government has initiated diplomatic discussions with the U.S. regarding newly imposed visa restrictions on Nigerians. Tuggar also expressed disappointment over similar travel curbs recently enacted by the United Arab Emirates.
Nigeria joined the BRICS+ alliance as a partner country in January 2025. Initially formed in 2006 by Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, BRICS seeks to amplify the voice of emerging economies on the global stage. The expanded BRICS+ now includes countries such as Egypt, Iran, Ethiopia, Indonesia, and the UAE.
Together, the BRICS+ members represent nearly 40% of global economic output and around half of the world’s population, accounting for approximately 37% of global GDP.
