Nigerians in the UK have been voicing their displeasure over the newly launched fast tracking device in the acquisition of passport by the Honorable Minister of Interior Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo which they claim is exploitative.
It is alleged that the officials of Nigeria House in that part of Europe has through a communique, introduced a mandatory fee of over three hundred dollars to be paid in the course of their passport applications.
Many Nigerians in the UK woke up to what they termed as another selective self-serving scheme when they realized that, that high fee has put in place in the procurement of their international passport.
According to them, there wouldn’t have been any worry, if the acquisition of passports became easy like the minister promised when he was appointed which many have commended both in Nigeria and other countries including the United Kingdom.
Surprisingly, getting a passport in the UK takes up to four months or more which in a way forces people to queue massively behind the new scheme of paying for fast tracking the process.
What many displeased Nigerians are saying is that they are not happy with the minister who could have made the process seamless instead of the newly introduced fast tracking method. Moreover, they are alleging that the company is saddled with the collection of the monies of the new scheme, NEW NETWORK SOLUTIONS, may be a proxy for the leadership of the ministry.
Several questions have been directed to DSI Bashir Aminu, the Attache at the Nigeria High Commission in the UK, but he has refused to give cogent reasons for the delay in acquisition and the new scheme.
The Attache, who is fondly called ‘In Coming’ by many in the Nigerian House because of his ambition to be Comptroller General of Immigration in Nigeria we gathered was hailed by many for clearing passport backlogs , but they could not understand why they are now creating the problem of artificial scarcity, which they feel could be for their gain.
They are however calling on the good government of President Bola Tinubu to look into the matter before it proceeds from bad to worse.
