IMMIGRATION ISSUE

Criticisms trail issuance of Nigerian ECOWAS passport abroad

Many Nigerians living abroad, who are yet to obtain the new ECOWAS passport popularly known as e-passport, should prepare for serious hiccups and hitches ahead. 

A Nigerian, who simply wants to be identified as Michael and has just obtained the e-passport  told African Examiner that the online payment procedure was  “very very awkward” because after you’ve filled out all your bio-data and other personal information and ready to make payment “you’ll then be told that debit and credit cards are no more accepted, at that point you’re asked to go and buy a $65 US post office money order and key in its control number where you would have put the credit car  number”

After that, he continued “you’ll have to mail the money order to a payment centre in Connecticut and wait until they receive it and get back to you via email, perhaps in another three to four days, before   proceeding to consulates of your choice-Atlanta, New York or Washington, DC.”

Sadly, the website falsely listed Washington, DC as one of the centres issuing the passport whereas only the Atlanta and New York consulates are issuing it.

A lot of people have selected the Washington, DC as their choice of obtaining the passport only to travel there and be told, sometimes in unfriendly terms, that they have to go New York or Atlanta.

“They don’t even tell you when making payments online that Washington, DC is not issuing the passport, only to travel down with your family and find out that you have to again go to New York or Atlanta. It is not even automatic; you have to get an appointment date before you can proceed to these places, why can’t they open more issuing locations, particularly the Washington, DC area to serve Maryland, Virginia, and other neighbouring states. ” Mrs Akindele, a Nigerian living in Alexandra Virginia, lamented.

According to her, restricting the issuing centre to just New York and Atlanta is not in the best interest of many who are living in far states.

On why credit and debits cards are not being accepted, African Examiner gathered that they were suspended due to fraud. Our source said “people will ask their banks to stop the payment, after they have completed their registration and obtained their passport.”

Apart from the United States, Nigerians living in other countries, especially in Asia are also finding it difficult to obtain the new passport.

A Nigerian living in UK said after making his own payment and completed the registration last month, he was given a date in October for the passport process.

It is also interesting to note that if you make a payment abroad and you happen to travel to Nigeria during the period that you are waiting, you will not be able to use the same payment to procure the passport in Nigeria unless you make a new payment.

Meanwhile, reports reaching us indicate that the Nigerian government may have recognized the hitches, as it has lifted the suspension placed on the machine readable passport, popularly known as MRP, which was originally scheduled to terminate on April 30, 2011.

The government had announced that Nigerians holding the MRP passport would not be able to use them to travel at the end of April 2011 as they are expected to obtain the ECOWAS passport.

A senior official at the Nigerian Embassy in Washington, DC told African examiner that anyone who still holds the MRP passport can still use them to travel if the passport has not expired.

His words “If you have an unexpired MRP passport you can still use it to travel but if expired you cannot use it nor renew it, your only option is to obtain the e- passport.”

However, as part of intervention to ease the problem, Officers of the Nigerian Immigration Service from Nigeria have been going round to various cities across the US to help facilitate speedy issuance of the passport to those living far away from New York and Atlanta, the last batch of the officers just left US last month and may return in July, according to our source. It is not clear however, if this intervention is being extended to Nigerians living in other countries/end

source African Examiner