THE AFRICAN COURIER. Reporting Africa and its Diaspora! The African Courier is an international magazine published in Germany to report on Africa and the Diaspora African experience. The first issue of the bimonthly magazine appeared on the newsstands on 15 February 1998. The African Courier is a communication forum for European-African political, economic and cultural exchanges, and a voice for Africa in Europe.
The Comptroller-General of Nigeria Immigration Service, NIS, Muhammad Babandede, has announced that the Service now has standard passport booklets in sufficient quantity for issuance, and has therefore directed Passport Control Officers to clear the backlog of all outstanding applications.
A statement by NIS Public Relations Officer, Sunday James, says the CG has appealed to the general public to bear with the Service and has also called on applicants who applied and paid for the 64-Page Standard Passport Booklet to contact the Centres where they made the applications for processing of their applications, adding that the 32 page backlogs will be cleared this week.
In the same vein the Minister of Interior, Lt Gen Abdulrahman Dambazau (rtd) has directed the immediate local production of the passport booklets in the country.
The CG appeals to all those who have had difficulty in getting their passport applications to kindly bear with the Service as, according to him, efforts have been concluded to attend to all other pending applications in all Processing Centres.
A source at the Nigerian Mission in Germany confirmed that passport booklets were now available even though not yet in sufficient numbers. Plans are underway to supply both the embassy in Berlin and the consulate in Frankfurt new stocks next week.
It’s however advisable for Nigerians living in Germany who would like to obtain passport from the Embassy in Berlin or Consulate in Frankfurt to call before visiting to confirm if booklets are available for collection.
Babandede had issued a circular on 14 March accepting that there was a shortfall in the supply of passport booklets in response to the complaints of Nigerians at home and in the Diaspora who had difficulties obtaining the travel document.
Sola Jolaoso
