Nigerians in the United Kingdom have expressed displeasure over delays, long waiting times and poor organisation that has characterised the conduct of the Special Passport Intervention.
Across social media platforms, many Nigerians living in the UK decried the difficulty of accessing the passport services that the National Immigration Service (NIS) promised months ago.
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The NIS first announced the intervention in August. The exercise aims to help Nigerians in the UK obtain new passports, renew existing ones, and resolve pending passport applications. It is also an effort to clear the backlog of passport applications among Nigerians in the UK.
PREMIUM TIMES reported that the first leg of the exercise was to take place between 7 and 19 September in London and Manchester.
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Last week, the NIS directed applicants to submit their applications online and make payments through the NIS Passport Application Portal before attending the intervention exercise.
It declared that applicants who “fail to do so will not be attended to.”
However, videos and images of a crowd of Nigerians standing outside the intervention centre in Manchester surfaced online on Monday, with many expressing frustration over the poor treatment of applicants.
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Nigerian applicants complained that they were delayed for hours despite submitting their applications days earlier.
Nigerians complain about delays
A Nigerian, Agbaeze Ejem, who said he attended the exercise in London, explained on X that he arrived at the venue at 9 a.m. but couldn’t complete the exercise until hours later, despite the low turnout at the time of his arrival.
Another Nigerian with the username @_aadeolaa wrote, “ A 9am appointment is yet to be attended to at 12 noon. Mind you, people paid £70 for these shambles.”
A Nigerian social worker based in Manchester, with the username Iamlyday1, criticised the government for its persistent mistreatment of its citizens.
“It is deplorable and wholly inadequate,” she wrote.
“You announce a passport intervention for Nigerians in parts of the UK; people rearrange their lives to attend. Some reportedly arrive early, and what greets them is chaos, poor planning, and people waiting for hours without being attended to,” she added.
Another social media user wrote, “I hate that I have to say that I hate Nigeria, but it has really gotten to that point. Told my manager I need to take Friday off to go and queue to get my passport renewed and he couldn’t believe his ears.”
“Nigeria immigration organised a passport immigration intervention exercise in Manchester, United Kingdom. Several hours later the people are yet to see the officials. This is why they laugh at us. I’ve not seen any other country that goes through such excruciating pains to renew their international passport,” another Nigerian decried.
Extra fees, closure of venue
Some Nigerians have also accused the NIS of failing to pay the management centre it reportedly used as a venue for the intervention exercise.
According to Olamide Obe, a Nigerian social media user, the Lebanese-owned Lavali Lounge in London was reportedly booked by the NIS to serve as a centre for the passport intervention scheme. But the lounge’s management was allegedly not paid to use the premises.
He also claimed the venue provided no security arrangements.
Olamide shared the post alongside a video showing a man at the alleged venue asking people to leave and shut the venue’s doors.
“You guys are done for today. I can’t take it. Even the embassy, this is unorganised. No security, no staff,” the man in the video said.
Others complained about extra fees introduced as a last-minute requirement for the exercise.
The extra fee, which costs £70-£150, is separate from the fees paid during applications on the NIS portal.
A Nigerian X user, Jacy, wrote, “I was in Manchester today at 11am. I had to go home! To get our passport renewed, we have to pay £70, excluding what we had already paid previously.”
Another Nigerian said, “People left home as early as 5am, took time off work and travelled long distances, only to be told they couldn’t be attended to because they hadn’t paid the newly introduced £70 fee.”
“This is the bullshit we are being charged an extra £70 for after the initial passport renewal charges? Sigh,” a Nigerian identified as Seun Ore declared.
Govt response
But the Nigerian Interior Minister, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, said that no extra charges are required beyond the official application fees.
In a statement shared on social media, he said,
“This process does not come with extra costs other than the official fees of $150 and $230 for five-year and ten-year validity passports, respectively, exclusive of bank charges.
READ ALSO: NIS to begin passport intervention in four UK cities
“Neither the Ministry of Interior nor the Nigeria Immigration Service has introduced any other charges outside the aforementioned.”
He also noted that the ministry, along with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is working to ensure that any inconveniences during this process do not continue.
“This government has demonstrated a high level of responsibility to Nigerians at home and abroad, and remains committed to its promises of providing succour to all,” the statement noted.
PREMIUM TIMES reached out to the NIS spokesperson, Akin Alabi, for clarification about the fees and issues raised by applicants but has yet to receive a response as of the time of this report.
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