Nigeria Affected as US Embassies Scale Back Communications During Shutdown

United States embassies and consulates worldwide say they will reduce public communications while Washington remains in shutdown.

In notices posted on official accounts, the missions said routine updates would be suspended “until full operations resume”, with exceptions only for urgent safety and security information.

However, the embassies noted that scheduled passport and visa services would continue “as the situation permits.”

Some of the embassies that issued the notice include those in Nigeria, Ghana, London, and Bangladesh.

The announcement comes as much of the US federal government halts operations following a funding impasse between President Donald Trump’s Republican Party and opposition Democrats.

The shutdown took effect at midnight after lawmakers failed to reach a deal. Trump has spent the past nine months cutting the size of the federal workforce, fuelling tensions over the current standoff.

Trump previously oversaw the longest shutdown in US history — a 38-day standoff from December 2018 to January 2019, which ended only after air traffic controllers walked off the job, forcing a temporary closure of LaGuardia Airport in New York.

This time, the president has threatened mass layoffs of federal workers, a move that could deepen the crisis if carried out.

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