By Yusuf Danjuma Yunusa

The U.S. government says routine visa services in Abuja and 24 other African cities will end on August 1.

“Effective August 1, 2026, the Department of State will realign routine visa services in Antananarivo, Abuja, Asmara, Bamako, Banjul, Brazzaville, Bujumbura, Conakry, Cotonou, Durban, Freetown, Gaborone, Harare, Juba, Libreville, Lilongwe, Lusaka, Maputo, Maseru, Mbabane, N’Djamena, Niamey, Nouakchott, Ouagadougou, and Windhoek to a regional visa hub,” the agency stated.

It noted that citizens and residents of the affected countries who wish to apply for a visa on or after August 1, 2026, must schedule an appointment and pay the required visa fee at the appropriate designated non-immigrant visa locations or designated immigrant visa locations.

From August 1, Nigerians who want to process a U.S. visa would have to travel to the U.S. consulate in Lagos.

According to a statement on July 23 by the agency, the move is “realigning visa operations in Africa to regional hubs, part of a long-standing Department practice that strengthens national security by promoting more uniform screening, vetting, and adjudication standards, as well as improves efficiency”.

Last June, reports had it that Abuja was missing from President Donald Trump administration’s shortlist of 20 African cities where foreigners seeking to travel to the U.S. can process visa applications.

The U.S. currently has around 50 embassies and consulates across Africa that process visa applications, but the new move by the State Department will slash that number to 20 amid Mr Trump’s crackdown on immigration.

Abbas Yushau Yusuf

The Sardaunan Sokoto and Nigeria’s former British high commissioner Alhaji Abubakar Alhaji is dead.

A family source informed Nigerian Tracker about the passing of Alhaji Abubakar Alhaji this morning

Alhaji Abubakar Alhaji died this morning in Abuja Hospital after a prolong illness.

NIGERIAN TRACKER reports that Abubakar Alhaji is a Nigerian administrator who is a former Minister of Planning and Finance. He currently holds the title of Sardauna of Sokoto. Alhaji was a long serving Permanent Secretary who worked with various Nigerian administrations

Alhaji was born to the family of Muhammed Sani also known as Alhaji Alhaji because he was born on the day of Sallah and went on a made pilgrimage to Mecca, he was also called Dogon Daji, Sarkin Shanu.

Alhaji attended a secondary school in Kano before transferring to Katsina Government College. He later attended Bournemouth College of Commerce and University of Reading, Berkshire earning a degree in political economy.

Alhaji took courses at the Hague Institute of Social Services and the IMF Institute, Washington.

He joined the Nigerian civil service in 1964 and was an Assistant Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Finance in the late 1960s. After attending a course in Hague, he was briefly posted to the Ministry of Industries where he became a Principal Assistant Secretary. In 1971, he was posted back to the Ministry of Finance. In 1975, he became a Permanent Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Trade and was in the ministry till 1978. In 1979, he was posted to the Finance Ministry as the Permanent Secretary. In his role at the Finance Ministry, he was involved in managing Nigeria’s relationship with its external creditors and was on the Nigerian negotiating team for Lome II agreement.

Alhaji was later posted to the Ministry of Planning before Babangida upgraded his position as Minister of State, Budget and Planning in 1988. Between 1990 and 1991, he was the Minister of Finance. In the mid-1990s, he was the country’s High Commissioner to United Kingdom.

Alhaji was turbaned Sardauna in 1990, the previous title holder, Ahmadu Bello died in 1966. He is a senior brother to the late Aliyu Dasuki who was raised by Ibrahim Dasuki. He has a grandson, Ibraheem Dasuki Aminu-Alhaji.

The National Youth Wing of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) has demanded the immediate resignation of the party’s National Chairman, Senator David Mark, and National Secretary, Rauf Aregbesola, over allegations of injustice and bias in party affairs.

The youths made the demand during a press conference addressed by the ADC National Youth Leader, Balarabe Rufa’i.

They accused the leadership of Mark and Aregbesola of failing to uphold fairness and internal democracy. According to them, the party leadership has resorted to favoritism by dropping candidates who won primaries and substituting them with individuals who did not participate in the process.

They said the problem is most visible in Kano State a key political state in Nigeria.

As examples, the youths cited Ambassador Abdurrahman Mai Nasara Salga, the ADC House of Representatives candidate for Dala Federal Constituency. They said Salga worked hard, invested resources, and mobilized support for the party in Kano, won the primary election, but was later removed from the party’s candidate list by the national leadership.

They also cited the case of the National Youth Leader himself, Balarabe Rufa’i, who is the ADC senatorial candidate for Kano Central. Rufa’i won the party’s primary, but his name is yet to be forwarded to INEC as the party’s official candidate.

The youths further alleged that in several Local Government Areas in Kano where primaries were conducted for House of Representatives candidates, a prominent ADC figure, Naja’atu Bala, unilaterally removed the names of the winners. She claimed that no elections were held and left those constituencies vacant on the list submitted to INEC.

They accused Naja’atu of deliberately sabotaging the growth of the ADC in Kano State.

Because of this, the youths called on the party’s presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, and other critical stakeholders who genuinely want the party to succeed to intervene urgently.

They said Kano is a political hub and central to the ADC’s acceptability nationwide. If the injustice in the state is not addressed, it will damage the gains the party has made and affect its chances in the 2027 elections.

The youths described the development as a gross failure of leadership on the part of David Mark and Aregbesola. They warned that continuing to replace legitimate candidates with handpicked ones will lead to the party’s defeat in the coming elections.

“To save the ADC and restore justice, we are calling on Senator David Mark and Rauf Aregbesola to step down immediately,” the youths declared.

“We will not sit and watch the sacrifices of those who built this party be wiped out. If you cannot provide fair leadership, then step aside for those who can,” the statement concluded.