Johannesburg – Nigeria`s Consul General in South Africa,
Amb. Uche Ajulu-Okeke, has urged the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to extend
the Bank Verification Number (BVN) exercise for Nigerians in the Diaspora to
Dec. 31.
Ajulu-Okeke made the plea when she visited a centre set up
by Online Integrated Solution Services (OIS), a consultancy firm that processes
visa applications and conducts BVN registration for Nigerians in Johannesburg,
South Africa.
“ We want to appeal to the Central Bank of Nigeria to extend
the BVN exercise to Dec. 31 this year to enable Nigerians living in the
Diaspora to be captured.
“ The registration centre in Johannesburg is for the nine
countries in the Southern African region.
“ Some Nigerians have travelled 2,000 kilometres from countries
in the region to be captured.
“ What is happening here is to inform Nigerians in the SADEC
Region that the exercise is on and they should come and be registered,“ she
said.
Ajulu-Okeke, who said the countries in the region had high
population of Nigerians, appealed to the apex bank to extend the exercise.
The consul general also commended the Nigeria Immigration
Service for improved service delivery in passport renewal and visa processing.
The Centre Manager of OIS, Mr Jamil Shittu, said 158 Nigerians
had been registered in the BVN exercise.
He said Nigerians in the Diaspora, especially from Burundi,
had called to ascertain if they could come to South Africa for the registration
exercise.
Shittu said the centre also processes visa applications and
forwards them to the Nigerian Mission for visa issuance.
“ We believe in providing first class service to everybody.
We want the applicants to have good impression about Nigeria,“ he said.
The Secretary of Nigeria Union in South Africa, Mr Adetola Olubajo,
said the OIS centre had made visa processing and passport renewal easy.
He pledged that the union would assist OIS in ensuring that
it succeeded in its assignment.
Mr Trust Owoyele, Vice Chairman of Gauteng Province of the
union, commended the consul general for promptly assisting Nigerians in South
Africa to solve their challenges.
He said the union in the province would mobilise Nigerians
to access facilities at the centre.
“ The union has been informing Nigerians to use the centre
to process their passport renewal and for BVN registration,“ he said.
Tags
NEWS