The Public Affairs Officer (PAO) of the United States of America in Lagos, Mr. Brussel Brooks yesterday said issuance of visa to Nigerians irrespective of their status is strictly a confidential matter. He said the US government would not discuss such confidentiality in public.
Brooks who spoke with journalists after an education forum held at the Distance Learning Center, University of Ibadan was apparently reacting to the controversy surrounding the US visa status of a former vice president of Nigeria and the presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2019 general elections, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.
According to Brooks, the position of the US Mission has remained the same throughout any discussion on this issue, that visa issuance is a confidential matter.
“We don’t discuss individual visa status of any person, whether it be a highly rated official, a presidential candidate or an average citizen.”
Brooks, who enjoined candidates especially presidential, governorship and National Assembly, to focus on issue-based campaigns and avoid distractions, also advised Nigerians to ask candidates at all levels of their plans to improve education.
