Abdul-Mutallab: US embassy denies Ondo legislators visas
By Sunday Aborisade, Akure, Published: Saturday, 13 Feb 2010








Twenty-four members of the Ondo State House of Assembly were denied visas to travel to the United States of America by the country‘s embassy in Nigeria last week.

Our correspondent learnt that the lawmakers, who are currently on working recess, were scheduled to travel to the US for a two-week seminar from the middle of this month.

It was further learnt that the action of the US embassy might not be unconnected with the new regulations released after the attempted suicide bombing of an American airliner on December 25 last year alleged to have involved a Nigerian, Farouk Abdul-Mutallab.

Only the Speaker, Mr. Abdulsalam Taofik, and three principal officers of the Assembly, who had applied for visas before the December incident, were not affected by the action of the US embassy.

”The remaining 22 legislators who applied after the December 25th 2009 incident were turned down,” a source said.

Confirming the development, the member representing Ilaje State Constituency II, Mr. Otito Atikase, said the US government‘s action against them was unpleasant, callous and a slap on Nigeria as a nation.

He noted that what happened on December 25th which allegedly involved Abdul-Mutallab did not make other 150 million Nigerians criminals.

However, the Speaker in a telephone interview with our correspondent on Thursday, said it was not true that the US embassy denied his colleagues visas.

He explained that the Assembly agreed to attend the seminar in three countries including the US, Canada, and the United Kingdom.

“Why should Atikase be spreading unfounded rumours? He did not apply for the US; he applied for the Canadian visa and we are already processing that for him,” Taofik said.


http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201002133432339

Thank God!

They were off on another worthless estacode gobbling junket.
Lawmakers from other countries don't travel all over the place like ours do. We have a way of making ourselves the laughing stock of this World, what sort of bloody seminar were Nigerian legislators going to attend in the US. Is the US their country?

We need a real empty plane blown off so that all Nigerian politicians will be banned from traveling for 10 years.They must invest all those stolen money here in Nigeria

Topic. . . .
And how is this linked to Abdul-Mutallab?
You need to get your head checked. . .
If you merit an american visa, you will get it without any problem. . . .
What you should be thanking God for is that America has saved Nigeria some useful resources which would have been spent on a worthless trip!!!