ANKARA

The US is pressuring African countries to accept Venezuelan deportees, the Nigerian foreign minister said.

On Wednesday, US President Donald Trump welcomed his counterparts from five West African countries, namely Senegal, Liberia, Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, and Mauritania.

During the meeting, the US administration asked the African leaders to accept deportees, according to various media reports.

Days before, Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu attended the BRICS Summit in Brazil as a partner country. Following the summit, Trump warned that countries affiliated with the BRICS economic bloc would face a 10% tariff, accusing the group of working against the US.

“The issue of tariffs may not necessarily have to do with us participating in BRICS. You also have to bear in mind that the US is mounting considerable pressure on African countries to accept Venezuelans to be deported from the US, some straight out of prison. It will be difficult for a country like Nigeria to accept Venezuelan prisoners into Nigeria,” Foreign Minister Yusuf Tuggar told local Channels Television on Thursday.

The Nigerian minister stressed that his country has “enough problems” of its own.

“We cannot accept Venezuelan deportees to Nigeria … We already have 230 million people,” he added.

Tuggar said that the discussions are ongoing with other countries, too.

“And, I think it will be unfair to insist that Nigeria accept 300 Venezuelan deportees. Maybe, that might just even be the beginning,” he added.