US embassy in Nigeria suspends operations indefinitely due to government shutdown

This will frustrate thousands of Nigerians whose visa appointments will have to be cancelled or rescheduled.
President Donald Trump's partial shutdown of the United States government has forced American Centers in Nigeria to suspend operations indefinitely

The United States embassy in Abuja and its consulate in Lagos have suspended operations indefinitely due to its government shutdown.

President Donald Trump had forced a partial government shutdown over his inability to get the Democrats in the legislature to fund the erection of a $5 billion US-Mexico border wall, a campaign promise. The shutdown began on December 22, 2018.

In a statement released by the embassy in Nigeria on Monday, December 31, it announced that the centers will remain closed until the shutdown is resolved.

"Due to the current U.S. government shutdown, the American Centers located in the Embassy, Abuja and Consulate General, Lagos are unfortunately closed. They will re-open once the U.S. government shutdown is resolved," the statement read.

The shutdown is expected to frustrate thousands of Nigerians who can't book visa appointments or whose already-scheduled appointments will have to be cancelled or rescheduled.

"Sorry for any inconvenience to our valued patrons," the embassy apologised in its statement.

Despite Trump's public defiance to not budge on the shutdown unless the funding for the border wall is provided, House Democrats are believed to be putting forward a legislation to fund the government without funding the Republican president's controversial wall.

This is expected to happen when Democrats take over the House on Thursday, January 3, 2019.