Yuletide: FG to allow Nigerians with expired passports return
The federal government has instructed that Nigerians with expired passports who are planning to return to the country to celebrate the yuletide be allowed in without any hindrance.
In a letter dated December 22, 2023 by the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Wura-Ola Adepoju, to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, through the Office of the Assistant Comptroller-General, Border Management, the NIS asked that Nigerians “be admitted into the country with expired Nigerian passports.”
“l am directed to refer to the above subject matter and inform you that the Federal Government of Nigeria, in her efforts to make life easy for Nigerians in the diaspora, has approved that all Nigerians returning home can be admitted into the country with expired Nigerian passports.
“I am further directed to inform airlines coming to Nigeria to allow holders of Nigerian expired passports to board without let.
“In furtherance to the foregoing, all Nigeria embassies and high commissions are advised to give this directive the highest publicity it deserves.
“Consequent upon the above, all entry/exit points are, by the copy of this letter, directed to open a help desk for all Nigerians in this category and direct same to passport offices where their passports will be reissued within a maximum of two weeks,” part of the letter seen by Daily Trust on Sunday states.
Meanwhile, the media aide to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Alkasim Abdulkadiri, could not confirm the receipt of the letter, adding that he was not in the office.
The phone number of the NIS spokesperson, Dotun Aridegbe, did not connect when our correspondent called to confirm the authenticity of the letter.
However, a reliable source at the NIS who wouldn’t want to be named, confirmed that the policy was not new as the Service did the same thing last year.
NEPC targets $6bn non-oil revenue in 2024
the council, Nonye Ayeni, said they were setting a mechanism to double the country’s export by adopting clear cut strategies in the area of certification.
Represented by Dr Joe Itah, the director of trade information of the agency, she said, “Our target, in line with the Renewed Hope agenda, is to double or even triple exports as outlined, so we believe that if we made $4.8 bn in 2023, we would be able to double that to between $5bn and $6bn. Our strategy is in the area of certification.
“We have a programme called Go Global, Go Certification, where we collaborate with the Standard Organisation of Nigeria, Nigeria Customs Service, National Agency for Food and Drugs Control (NAFDAC) and other organised private sector participants to ensure that our exporters are certified to standards with regards to anything they want to export
“Export reject is one area where the certification comes to play, so we want to address that issue head on, as well as the entire export value chain, which includes electricity, infrastructure and power,” the NEPC chief explained.