10,000 Nigerians In U.K. For e-Passport
More than 10,000 Nigerians resident in the UK are expected to be captured for the biometric e-passport ahead of the April 30 deadline.
Mr. Muhammed Isah, Head of the Immigration section at the Nigeria High Commission said this in an interview with the Europe Correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in London.
“Based on the volume of requests from the Nigerian community in the UK, we are expecting more than 10,000 people to turn up for the exercise which would last for 28 days,†he said.
He said that already a team from the Headquarters of the Nigerian Immigration Services (NIS) in Abuja had arrived for the exercise which has been scheduled to hold from March 16 in five locations across the UK.
He identified the locations as Edinburg, Manchester, Birmingham, Cardiff and Belfast.
Isah explained that the Mission was collaborating with Central Association of Nigerians in the UK (CANUK), an umbrella body for all Nigerian associations in the UK to mobilise and sensitise members on the exercise.
“It is expected that most prospective applicants of the e-passport will take advantage of this opportunity,†he added.
Isah, while noting that the exercise would further reduce the pressure on the High Commission, added that it would improve the relationship between the Nigerian Mission and the Nigerian community in the UK.
Nearly three million Nigerians are said to be resident in the UK.
NAN reports that London, New York, Johannesburg, New Delhi and Madrid were designated in 2008 as pilot centres for the e-passports.
The NIS has since then designated more centres abroad for the e-passport and moved its personnel around countries on intervention assignments to capture more Nigerians.
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