Ghana has begun accepting West African nationals deported from the United States, including Nigerians, President John Dramani Mahama said on Wednesday.
According to Reuters, Mahama disclosed that a first batch of 14 deportees, made up of Nigerians, a Gambian and others, had already arrived in Accra, with the Ghanaian authorities facilitating their return to their respective countries.
“We were approached by the US to accept third-party nationals who were being removed from the US, and we agreed with them that West African nationals were acceptable because all our fellow West Africans don’t need a visa to come to our country,” he said.
He justified the decision by saying West Africans “don’t need a visa anyway” to come to Ghana.
The arrangement comes amid Washington’s intensified deportation drive under President Donald Trump, who has pushed for removals to “third countries” as part of his hardline immigration policy.
Trump has previously overseen deportations of migrants to Eswatini, South Sudan and Rwanda despite safety concerns raised by rights groups.
Nigeria, however, has rejected similar overtures from Washington.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, said in July that the Federal Government would not accept deportees from outside Nigeria, citing national security and economic concerns.
Trump hosted five West African leaders at the White House on July 9, where, according to Reuters, one of the key objectives was to persuade them to receive deportees from other countries.
They include the leaders of Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mauritania and Senegal.