RE: The Nigerian Immigration Services and Sabotuers

Our attention has been drawn to the above titled article written by one Seyi Oduyela in which he criticised the Embassy on its passport processing functions as well as the Immigration services in Nigeria. In the same article the writer refused to appreciate any progress the country had witnessed under the present administration and would not provide assistance to make improvements.

Mr. Oduyela would have done well if he had reported to the law enforcement agencies the nefarious activities of the Festac and Ikeja offices of the Immigration Services as well as that of those selling Nigerian passports to foreigners all of which he allegedly witnessed.

While Nigeria like any other country in the world has its own fair share of unscrupulous people, to say that "most of those carrying Nigerian passports are not Nigerians" is to exaggerate to the extreme.

As for Nigerian Embassy in Washington, one wonders where the writer got his information - for the Mission did not experience any shortage of passport booklet during the period being referred to.

In the case of replacement of lost passports, the Embassy in conjunction with the American authorities evolve the policy of sending all applications for lost passports to Abuja for verification of the status of the lost passport before new ones are issued.

This is to check the rising incidences of unscrupulous Nigerians declaring their passport lost in order to change their identity while in the United States as well as to prevent non-Nigerians from having access to our passports. However, Nigerians who have lost their passports but desirous of travelling are issued Emergency Travel Certificate (ETC) pending the outcome of the investigation of the status of their lost passports.

Passport applications, contrary to the writer's assertion, are treated on first come, first serve basis and this explains why every applicant is given a number to be presented when collecting his/her passports.

From the above it is clear that the writer would have been better informed if he had taken the time and effort to contact the Embassy for their reactions instead of rushing to the media.

The Mission welcomes constructive criticism designed to improve its services but it must be based on facts and reality.

We pledge our continued commitment to improve services to all and sundry and would not hesitate to deal decisively with anyone within the system preventing this objective.