The new development, the Central Association of Nigerians in the United Kingdom (CANUK) said, is a directive from the Nigeria Immigration Service to the London mission.
Nigerians in the United Kingdom will no longer be able to access the fast-track service which enables them to renew travel documents within 72 hours.
The new development, the Central Association of Nigerians in the United Kingdom (CANUK) said, is a directive from the Nigeria Immigration Service to the London mission.
The Central Association of Nigerians in the United Kingdom (CANUK) was formed by the Nigeria High Commission in the United Kingdom in 2005 to see to the welfare, views, and community interests of Nigerians in the United Kingdom.
According to the group, the fast-track option was introduced in May 2021 when the Nigerian High Commissioner to the UK, Ambassador Sarafa Tunji Ishola assumed office and set about addressing the perennial passport problem.
The fast-track option allowed individuals to get their passports within 72 hours by paying a fast-track fee of £120.
The group explained in a statement, “All they had to do was go to the Post office and get a postal order for £120 payable to the Nigerian High Commission.
“After this, applicants proceeded to go for biometric data capturing after which their passports would be sent to them within 72 hours and in some cases, applicants could simply pick up their passports within 24 hours.”
The system was said to have been effective until an order from the Nigerian Immigration Service to the London mission to stop the fast-track programme.
Olajumoke Ariyo, the Vice-Chair (Passports), of the Central Association of Nigerians in the UK (CANUK), said: “This executive committee assumed office on May 22 last year, almost immediately after the high commissioner arrived. We immediately began working to support and assist Nigerians in navigating the complicated passport applications process.
"We also worked with the high commission to introduce the fast-track system to the public and helped disseminate relevant information and updates to the community. This collaboration enabled the high commission to promptly clear the backlog of over 16,000 applications and process thousands of daily new applications.
"There was also a clear reduction in the tension previously seen at the high commission and a new ease in the passport application process being experienced by applicants and other users of the service. With the scrapping of this highly productive fast-track programme, there is a high possibility of a return to the bad old days and already, we are beginning to see evidence of this with aggressive and abusive behaviour being exhibited by customers who are seeing their expectations not met."
In November 2021, Nigeria's interior minister, Rauf Aregbesola visited the UK to formally launch the new enhanced 10-year passport, at the high commission in London.
However, since the launch of the new document, according to the statement, the high commission has been asked to change its operating methods to include the introduction of a new appointment system, which is operated from Abuja as opposed to being locally generated.
CANUK explained that while the fast-track service was in place, touts were taken out of the system but with the scrapping of service, people in desperate need of their passports are forced to resort to using the illicit services of touts who charge as high as £350 per passport.
Also, under the new system, it takes between eight to nine weeks to get an appointment for biometrics capture and a further one to two weeks for a passport to be processed, so those who need to travel urgently are forced to apply for even more expensive visas or an Emergency Travel Certificate. Others are simply taking the option of travelling with expired passports.
"It is quite unfortunate but it would seem that very little thought if any is given to making the process of obtaining a Nigerian passport in the UK easy, uncomplicated, straightforward or transparent.
“This is happening while certain individuals are being enriched at the expense of Nigerians and the Nigerian government, so this situation needs to be reviewed urgently," Ariyo added.