The Nigerian community in New York is making another plea to the Federal Government, asking for the provision of passport production printers to the Nigeria Consulate to facilitate efficient passport services in the United States.
The call was raised by concerned Nigerians during the 12th virtual Town Hall Meeting convened by the Consulate specifically for the Nigerian Community within its jurisdiction.
Within the New York Jurisdiction, there are 20 states, namely Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Nebraska, Ohio, and North Dakota, alongside South Dakota, Rhode Island, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Vermont, and Pennsylvania.
During the interactive portion of the meeting, Nigerian participants questioned the rationale behind the Federal Government’s choice to establish just one passport production center in the U.S., situated in Washington, DC, despite the existence of three Nigerian missions across the country: the Consulates-General in New York and Atlanta, and the Embassy in Washington, DC.
In the United States, the embassy located in Washington DC serves as the sole hub for passport production, with consulates handling biometric collection and forwarding the data to the embassy for processing.
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The decision to allocate two passport production printers to a center overseeing 10 states, while none are designated for the New York Consulate, responsible for 20 states, raised significant scrutiny.
Their claim underscores that the New York Consulate holds the distinction of overseeing the largest number of states and managing the highest volume of applicants across the entire United States.
Their skepticism towards the Federal Government’s response to several appeals on this matter led them to question whether financial limitations are preventing the acquisition of the machines. Moreover, they demonstrated a proactive attitude, expressing their willingness to take charge of acquiring the machines if necessary.
Mr. Olayinka DanSalami, the moderator of the meeting, aligned himself with the concerns voiced by the concerned Nigerians, stating that his organization and its partners had recently drawn the attention of the Federal Government to the issue.
On February 6, the Organisation for the Advancement of Nigerians (OAN), alongside its 20 partners in New York, issued a joint appeal to the Federal Government, urging for the installation of passport production printers at the consulates in New York and Atlanta.
OAN, representing partner organizations, conveyed their concern over the absence of printers at the two consulates in a letter addressed to Nigeria’s Minister of Interior, Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo.
As a Board Member of OAN, Dansalami called for more Nigerian associations to join the campaign demanding the provision of machines to enhance consular services in the two consulates.
Amb. Lot Egopija, in his response, conveyed appreciation to the concerned Nigerians for their passion, expressing optimism that the machines would soon be provided to the Consulate.
“We have informed the government, and we have been assured that they will provide the passport production printers to the New York and Atlanta Consulates in the next face of passport production machine issuance.
Earlier, the Nigerian envoy thanked the nationals for their commitment to attending the town hall meeting, which has helped in getting feedback from them.
‘We have done our best to see that our nationals get their passports within the stipulated time,’ he said.