BY AKINWALE ABOLUWADE, IBADAN
Delays in the issuance of international passports to prospective travellers by the Nigerian Immigration Service may have adverse economic effects on Nigeria and the people, a 2023 ADC Presidential aspirant, Favour Ayodele, has said.
The politician spoke in an interview with The Point in Ibadan, on Tuesday.
According to him, it has become indisputable that the current administration in the country has yet to factor in the gravity of the damage that delays in passport issuance could cost Nigeria’s economy.
He said, “Since the first official Nigerian International Passport was made public in 1960, following the nation’s independence, subsequent administrations endeavoured to keep up the speed in catching up with global requirements with respect to making our passports machine-readable in 1998 and biometrics-capable in 2003.
“These upgrades enabled Nigerian citizens to continue to travel freely around the world, ensure the continual flow of international business between Nigerians and their international business counterparts, and more importantly, enable Nigerians in the diaspora to maintain legal immigration status in their second homes overseas while staying in touch with Nigeria.
“It must be understood that the majority of Nigerians in diaspora require up-to-date documents in order to maintain legal status for residency and work overseas. As at the last count, there were well over 16 million Nigerians living outside the homeland.
“It would, therefore, seem like a matter of urgency to any economy-conscious administration to address what could potentially become a cog in the wheel of progress to a sector of the economy that generates about $20 billion per annum. Nigerians in diaspora remit an approximate average of $20 billion per annum.”
Citing earlier publications, Ayodele said that in 2020, at the height of the COVID-19 lockdown, oil and natural gas exports dropped by over 40per cent, to generate approximately $3 billion, while remittances by Nigerians in diaspora pushed the figure to $16 billion.
Noting that the Nigerians in diaspora held the strategic key to the nation’s deliverance from the sinking sand of poverty, he said that steps must be taken towards ensuring unhindered access to the passport for eligibility.
“You have the exposure. You also have acquired expertise in the various fields of endeavour and you are doing great in your chosen professions. You also have access to tremendous resources: financial, systems, business intelligence practices, state-of-the-art technology, and intellectual property that can be deployed in the homeland to create endless business opportunities for our teeming youth.
“As it stands currently, only one political party has the foresight to create an inclusive approach for Nigerians in the diaspora. That party is the African Democratic Congress,” he noted.
