London, August 15, 2018 (AltAfrica)-The United States of America Embassy in Abuja, Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory, has announced a temporary shutdown of its Abuja Consulate for visa and American Citizen Service.

The embassy said visa applicants will be contacted for rescheduling. However, the Consular functions in U.S. Consulate Lagos are not affected and will continue operations.

The embassy disclosed this on its website on Tuesday, although no reason was given for the announcement.

“Until further notice, all consular appointments at the U.S. Embassy in Abuja have temporarily ceased for both visas and for American Citizen Services (ACS).

“Consular functions in U.S. Consulate Lagos are not affected and will continue,” it said.

The U.S. embassy advised American citizens in Nigeria’s northern region with emergency services should contact the after-hours emergency number for Abuja on “09461-4000 and press ‘0’ to go to the operator to request assistance”.

It also asked American citizens in the northern part of the country with urgent travel needs, who were travelling before Tuesday and were willing to reschedule their travel through Lagos to contact the ACS office at Consulate Lagos via ‘01460 3400 and LagosACS@state.gov’, to discuss their options.

“Those travelling after Tuesday should follow up with Abuja ACS to confirm their appointments closer to their scheduled date,” it added.

The embassy urged those willing to travel to the U.S. to monitor its Facebook handle and webpage for a later announcement of resumed consular operations in the nation’s capital, Abuja.