Nigerians In South Africa Reject N54,000 Demanded By Consulate For Passport Replacement

The Nigerian Union in South Africa (NUSA) wants the consulate in Johannesburg to scrap the R2000 (about N54,000) imposed for the replacement of lost passports.

An open letter to the Consul General, Abdulmalik Ahmed, also requested that the collection of R120 (about N4,000) for capturing be stopped.

Collins Mgbo, Head of NUSA Secretariat, said the additional fees were inflicting pains on those whose passports were stolen, lost, damaged, or misplaced.

Mgbo insisted there is no justification for the “premeditated hardship” on people trying to cope with the global economic meltdown.

NUSA said the policies were against the diplomatic mission’s mandate to cater for the interest of Nigerians.

The body further demanded that the time frame for passport renewal and replacement should not be more than one month.

“The avoidable delay makes corruption inevitable as applicants would be desperate to get their travelling documents on time in order to apply for or renew their immigration documents.

“It is imperative to add that if these demands are not met, we shall be left with no options than to embark on necessary action both at the consulate in Johannesburg and in Nigeria”, NUSA said.