The Federal Government’s special passport intervention for Nigerians in the United Kingdom (UK) has opened amid complaints over delays, poor organisation and alleged additional administrative charges.
Videos shared on social media on Monday showed Nigerians gathered outside a locked entrance believed to be the Nigerian Passport Intervention Centre in Manchester, waiting to gain access.
One X user said applicants who arrived as early as 9am were still waiting by 11:30am without being attended to.
“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,” the user posted.
The user called for better planning, organisation and communication during the intervention exercise.
Another video reportedly recorded at a passport intervention centre in London showed a man asking Nigerians to leave the premises.
The man, reportedly the owner of the lounge booked for the exercise, expressed frustration over the organisation of the programme.
“We’re done for today, deal with the embassy, I can’t take it. Its unorganised, no security, no staff,” he was heard saying.
An X user claimed the man subsequently called the police, alleging that only 12 people had been attended to by 2pm.
“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 user said.
There were also allegations that Nigerian immigration officials demanded an additional £70 from applicants as an administrative fee.
FG denies extra passport fees
The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, said he was concerned about the difficulties Nigerians encountered during the passport intervention.
In a statement issued on Monday by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Alao Babatunde, the minister denied that applicants were required to pay any administrative fee beyond the official passport charges.
“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 said.
“Neither the Ministry of Interior nor the Nigeria Immigration Service has introduced any other charges outside the aforementioned.”
Tunji-Ojo said consultations were ongoing with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to address the challenges and ensure Nigerians do not continue to experience unnecessary inconvenience.
The Nigeria passport intervention exercise in the UK is scheduled to run from September 7 to 19.
The programme was launched last month to clear backlogs involving new passport applications, renewals and other pending cases.
