YPP presidential candidate tells Nigerians in US to plan their return

The presidential candidate of the Young Progressives Party (YPP), Dr Peter Agada, has urged Nigerian professionals in the diaspora to return home and contribute to national development as the United States tightens its immigration policies, Punch reports.

In a statement issued in Abuja on Friday, Agada blamed the Federal Government for failing to develop a clear plan to attract skilled Nigerians back home, describing the situation as a national embarrassment. He ruled out condemning the US, saying every country has the right to protect its interests. “I do not blame the US for its policy. Every country has the right to protect its system. But I blame Nigeria for not having a plan to receive its own professionals when other countries push them out,” he said.

Agada said Nigeria had spent two decades celebrating the “Japa” migration, largely because of remittances, without building structures to encourage returns. He warned that nurses in Houston who lose their Employment Authorisation Documents would have no work, while engineers in Chicago whose status is under review face fear and uncertainty.

He urged professionals to plan their return, not to Abuja but to their wards, noting that many of Nigeria’s 8,809 wards lack resident professionals. “Your Ward needs you more than America needs you. In your Ward, you are not a refugee with 10 days to defend your status,” he said.

The statement follows a US State Department disclosure that the Trump administration has revoked more than 300,000 visas since January 2025, up from about 175,000 reported in August.