Nigerian citizens living in New York have again petitioned the federal government to provide passport production printers to the Nigeria Consulate, with the aim of enhancing seamless passport services in the United States.
The concerned Nigerians who made the call were hosted at a virtual town hall meeting by the Consulate for the Nigerian Community under its jurisdiction.
The twenty states that comprise the New York Jurisdiction are Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Nebraska, Ohio, and North Dakota.
Other states include Rhode Island, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Vermont, and Pennsylvania.
Nigerians questioned why the U.S. Federal Government would only have one passport production facility, located in Washington, DC, during the meeting’s Q&A session.
There are three Nigerian embassies in the US: the Nigerian Embassy in Washington, DC; the Nigerian Consulates-General in New York and Atlanta?
Although the consulates collect biometrics and send them to the embassy in Washington, DC, for passport production, the embassy in DC is the only facility in the country that produces passports.
They questioned why the New York Consulate, which oversees 20 states, had no printers for producing passports, while a centre covering 10 states had two.They claim that the New York Consulate is the one with the greatest number of states and the one that accepts the greatest number of applicants nationwide.
They expressed willingness to take on the task of obtaining the machines and questioned the Federal Government’s response to multiple appeals made on the matter, questioning if money is the determining factor in obtaining the machines.
The meeting’s moderator, Mr. Olayinka DanSalami, expressed similar feelings to the worried Nigerians, pointing out that his organisation and its allies had just brought it to the Federal Government’s attention.
On February 6, the Organisation for the Advancement of Nigerians (OAN) and twenty partners in New York made a request to the Federal Government to set up passport production printers at the consulates in Atlanta and New York.
On behalf of the partner organisations, OAN expressed concern about the two consulates’ lack of printers in a letter to Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, Nigeria’s Minister of Interior.
However, Dansalami, an OAN board member, urged other Nigerian associations to join the advocacy for the provision of the machines to improve consular services in the two consulates.
Responding to the concerned Nigerians, Amb. Lot Egopija, the Consul General of Nigeria in New York, expressed gratitude for their enthusiasm and expressed the hope that the machines would be delivered to the Consulate soon.
After notifying the government, we received an assurance that the printers needed to produce passports would be sent to the consulates in Atlanta and New York for the upcoming passport production process.
Previously, the Nigerian envoy expressed gratitude to the citizens for their attendance at the town hall meeting, stating that it has facilitated gathering their input.
He stated, “We have made every effort to ensure that our citizens receive their passports on time.”
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