Author: Aishat Ibrahim

Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) Bans Cash Payments At Passport Offices

The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has banned cash payments for passport processing as part of efforts to eliminate corruption at all passport offices nationwide.‎

According to the Comptroller General of NIS, Muhammad Babandede:
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“All payments in respect to passport processing are to be done by applicants through banks to generate application ID and reference number on the NIS portal and not through an individual or touts, Passport applicants are therefore strongly advised to visit the NIS website www.immigration.gov.ng to confirm the approved fees for all categories of Nigerian Passports and age groups before making payments.”

The Comptroller General has also said the management of all passport offices have been directed to paste all information required at the premises to guide applicants in line with the executive orders. He urged Nigerians to direct any complaint or enquiries to 07080607900 and the email address nis.servicom@nigeriaimmigration.gov.ng.

The NIS Comptroller General had vowed to stamp out corruption in the operations of the NIS as part of efforts to reposition the Service and ensure efficient service delivery.

Nigeria Partners China To Curtail Importation Of Substandard Products

Nigeria has partnered with China to address the importation of substandard products into the country.

Addressing the press in Abuja, Ye Shuijin, President of China Chamber of Commerce Nigeria (CCCN), confirmed that most of the fake products imported into Nigeria were not made in China. He said the CCCN and the Standards Organization of Nigeria (SON) had put measures in place that would check the inflow of substandard products into the country.

According to Ye, some of the measures include reporting and sanctioning culprits and also ensuring companies imbibe and pursue quality at all times.

In his words:

“Most of the substandard products that came to Nigeria are not from China because the Chinese government has well-structured standards in place for its products. China products are of high quality, nonetheless, the Chinese government is already cooperating with the Nigerian government to promote the importation of quality products to Nigeria.”

According to reports, sub-standard products are mostly common in the importation of iron rods, electronics, electrical consumables and fittings, among others. SON in 2016, raised the alarm that 40% of electrical and electronic appliances imported into Nigeria were sub-standard and had caused loss of lives and property. It was also observed that all kinds of uncertified food items were also being imported into the country.

He, however, urged the Nigerian Customs Service importers to be cautious and do more in checkmating inflow of substandard products at the nation’s seaports and borders. The CCCN president noted that the chamber of commerce and the government have always encouraged investors from China to invest in the manufacturing sector to support the development of the Nigerian economy.

Nigeria & EU Partner To Facilitate Investment Flow

Nigeria and the European Union (EU) have agreed to enhance cooperation in the areas of corruption, security and economy, to facilitate investment flow from the EU states into Nigeria.

EU Ambassador and Head of EU delegation to Nigeria and Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Michell Arion led the EU delegation to the dialogue. Nigeria Foreign Affairs Minister Geoffrey Onyeama led other ministry officials to the meeting.

Briefing reporters, Arion said the meeting focused on Buhari’s three-point agenda of security, economy and corruption as well as others, which include irregular migration and the humanitarian situation in the Northeast. The envoy said that EU and Nigeria could work together for mutual benefits of both parties and enhance peace, security and economic cooperation.

In his words:

“We believe that our prosperity is your prosperity. We see West Africa as a block of ECOWAS and Nigeria as the economic base. We see West Africa not as export designation for the EU but investment destination for EU; we don’t have hidden agenda. I will say that what we can do is to facilitate the EU investment in Nigeria, not only at the level of bilateral relations but in other fora. I believed that there are a lot of things we can do together basically in two main areas one is peace and security. We really believed that our security in the EU is your security; I believe we are fighting the same terrorists.”