‘Admin fees, delays’ — Nigerians protest at UK passport intervention centre

The federal government’s intervention to ease passport
processing for Nigerians in the United Kingdom (UK) has gotten off to a rocky
start, with applicants protesting alleged additional administrative fees and
delays in processing applications.

 

Videos shared by social media users on Monday showed a crowd
gathered outside a locked door believed to be the Nigerian Passport
Intervention Centre in Manchester as they waited to gain entry.

“It is now 11:30 a.m., and people who arrived as early as
9:00 a.m. are still waiting, with nothing happening. This is not the way to
treat Nigerians who have taken time off work, travelled long distances, and
paid for passport services,” an X user posted.

“Please, we cannot continue doing things this way. We need
proper planning, better organisation, clear communication, and an efficient
system that respects people’s time and dignity. We must move away from the same
old ways of doing things and organise these interventions properly.”

Another video reportedly recorded at the passport
intervention centre showed a man asking a separate crowd of Nigerians to leave
the premises.

According to social media posts, the man, who was said to be
the owner of the lounge booked for the passport intervention in London,
expressed anger over what he described as the “incompetence” of Nigerian
authorities.

“We’re done for today, deal with the embassy, I can’t take
it. Its unorganised, no security, no staff,” the man is heard saying.

An X user added that the man also called the police on the
crowd.

“You successfully embarrassed us in front of the UK police
& a Lebanese owner because of your incompetence. He said he hasn’t been
paid, no staff, no security. 3 people attended to in 1 hour, it’s 2pm and just
12 people have been attended to. Shame @nigimmigration @BTOofficial,” the
social media user said.

Nigerian immigration authorities were also accused of
demanding £70 from citizens in passport intervention “administrative fees”.

FG RESPONDS, SAYS CONSULTATIONS ONGOING TO ADDRESS
INCONVENIENCES

Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, minister of interior, said he was
concerned about the inconvenience experienced by Nigerians in the UK regarding
the passport intervention exercise.

In a statement issued on Monday by Alao Babatunde, special
adviser to the minister on media and publicity, Tunji-Ojo also denied the
requirement of administrative fees as allegedly demanded by officials.

“It is therefore necessary to clarify that this process does
not come with extra cost different from the official fees of $150 and $230 for
a five-year and ten-year validity passports respectively, exclusive of bank
charges,” the statement reads.

“Neither the Ministry of Interior nor the Nigeria
Immigration Service has introduced any other charges outside the
aforementioned.”

He noted that consultations are ongoing with the ministry of
foreign affairs to ensure that inconveniences do not persist any longer.

The intervention, scheduled to run from September 7 to 19,
was launched last month to clear backlogs involving new passport applications,
renewals and pending cases.

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