Diasporan group accuses Nigerian High Commission in the UK of imposing extra charges on special passport intervention. The Nigerians in Diaspora Civic Forum has slammed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs over what it describes as the unauthorised extra charges now being levied on Nigerians seeking to use the special passport intervention programme in the United Kingdom. The Forum said the widely reported additional fees, which many Nigerians initially attributed to the Ministry of Interior, do not originate from that ministry; credible evidence in its possession shows that the Nigerian High Commission in the United Kingdom is the body imposing the extra charges on applicants.
In a statement signed by its spokesperson, Christopher Babafemi Akinola, the Forum expressed deep concern at what it called the "constant insensitivity" of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs towards Nigerians in the diaspora. The special passport intervention, the Forum noted, was introduced to give Nigerians in the UK additional options for processing their applications and was never designed to attract any fee beyond the official charges of $150 for a five-year passport and $230 for a ten-year passport, exclusive of bank charges.
"Neither the Ministry of Interior nor the Nigeria Immigration Service has introduced any other charges outside the aforementioned official fees," the statement said. Passport issuance inside Nigeria is handled by the Interior Ministry; abroad, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the lead agency as it controls High Commission premises and holds the consular mandate - the extra charges, including postal orders payable to the High Commission, originate with Foreign Affairs and are not remitted to Interior.
The same intervention has worked successfully in the United States, Canada and other countries; the UK remains the exception because the High Commission is frustrating the effort. The Forum demanded immediate synergy among the Nigeria Immigration Service, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Interior and the Nigerian High Commission in the UK so the programme can serve its purpose.
Signed: Christopher Babafemi Akinola, Spokesperson, Nigerians in Diaspora Civic Forum. Source: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1JN2Q84fxF/?mibextid=wwXIfr
