NIDCOM Boss Commends Nigerian Mission In UK For Efforts At Stopping Passport Racketeering
Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Chairman/CEO, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission
(NIDCOM) has commended the Nigerian High Commission in the UK for its
concerted effort to put a stop to passport racketeering in London.
NIDCOMthe new Nigerian High
Commissioner to the UK Amb. Sarafa Tunji Isola for his efforts so far .
Amb. Sarafa Tunji Isola upon resumption of duties held several strategic
meetings with relevant staff of the mission to brainstorm on the best
ways to address the incessant allegations of corruption and other
negative reports on the issuance of the Nigerian passport in London as
well as restoring the credibility of the mission in the process.
These new efforts led to the discovery that 18 innocent Nigerians have
paid between £200 and £350 to racketeers in their bid to urgently renew
and acquire the Nigerian passport.
The NIDCOM boss applauded the new Ambassador and his team in their quest
to restore the mission’s credibility while urging Nigerian communities
to always visit the mission on any matter concerning their stay in the
UK and avoid patronizing touts.
Dabiri-Erewa noted that the mission has confirmed the availability of
sufficient passport booklets for deserving applicants
She joined the UK mission in appreciating the Comptroller General of
the Nigerian Immigration Service for ensuring that adequate passport
booklets are available at the High Commission.
The mission has resumed the Fast-Track services in line with the global
practices for Nigerians with urgent reasons for passport renewal.
It will be recalled that the High Commission suspended services to
Nigerians in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic and resumed in April 2021
following the lifting of the lockdown restrictions by the British
government.
As at 31st March, 2021, there was a backlog of 18,000 applications
awaiting processing, which were accumulated between December 2019 to
March 2021.
A total of 8,852 out of 9,964 passports were captured from the backlog.