By Wilson Adekumola
The Consul General of Nigeria in New York, Ambassador Lot Egopija has explained why Nigerians living in the United States must stop seeking the services of middlemen to process their passports and other documents in the missions.
This admonition was given at a hybrid 9th Town Hall Meeting with the Nigerian Community within New York Jurisdiction held at the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Dominion Cathedral, Orange, New Jersey.
The News Agency of Nigeria reported that the envoy stated that the Consulate opposed using middlemen as that might be the cause why some nationals face difficulties in receiving their passports.
Egopija said, “If you have any query about passport application, please, call us or send an e-mail to us. We respond to e-mails within 48 hours, so you don’t need to go through middlemen.”
Ambassador Egopija stated further tha the Consulate would deploy all resources to ensure that the nationals within its jurisdiction continued to enjoy better services.
“We have been doing everything to ensure that Nigerians who visit the Consulate get desired services and also doing our best to address some of the teething problems in the processing of passports.”
He then promised the nationals that some of the issues identified during the meeting, especially on timely communication with the Consulate officials and update on passports intervention would be addressed.
“We will work with the community leaders and post some necessary information on the community WhatsApp for our nationals to be well informed about our services.
“Also, feel free to call me on my number and I will attend to you if our call centre is busy,’’ the envoy said.
