New York – The Consulate General of Nigeria in New York has complied with the directive to deliver travel passports to Nigerians within 24-hour in compliance with President Goodluck Jonathan's mandate.
Amb. Habiba Habu, the outgoing Consular-General of Nigeria in New York, said Bureau Chief in an interview on Friday. “Nigerians now get their passports issued to them on the same day. “We have complied with the Federal Government’s directive that travel documents must be delivered to Nigerians within 24 hours,” he said. Habu said that before he took over, it was business as usual. “When I took over in 2011, there were so many complaints of delays, corruption and extortion by some officials in the passport unit in the Consulate. “When I came on board, we overhauled the passport unit. “We introduced a 'first come first served system,' I also told the officials that I will appropriately sanction any of them caught engaging in mistreating and collecting anything from applicants. “We also conducted a training programme for the staff on how to relate with the applicants and also render selfless and patriotic service, while shunning corruption and extortion,” Habu said. He said that after taking over that he conducted an investigation and found "a clear evidence of up to 20 days delay, mistreatment of applicants and corrupt practices in the Consulate. “The allegations were that passport officials compelled them to pay bribe to obtain the travel documents. “Those who refused to pay to the officials have had their applications delayed. “One thing is certain, I discovered that due to the extraordinary delay in issuance of travel documents, some of the officials engaged in these acts,” he said. Habu also said that most of the plans he had for the consulate in the area of passport issuance had been accomplished. The Consulate-General said that in 2014, 11,112 passports were issued, while as at May 15, 2015, 3,734 passports had been issued. He expressed gratitude to staff members who accepted the changes and worked hard to serve Nigerians. The Consulate has under its jurisdiction in the following states: Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine and Massachusetts. Others are Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Nebraska, Ohio, North Dakota, South Dakota, Rhode Island, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Vermont and Pennsylvania.
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