News / politics / Travel

Minister to NIS: Allow Nigerians with expired passports to return home

The Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, has directed the Nigeria Immigration Service to allow Nigerians in diaspora to return to Nigeria with their expired International Passports.

Ogbeni Aregbesola gave the directive while responding to a complaint by a Nigerian-American citizen, Jamui Kasumu.

The Minister spoke on Wednesday in Lagos at the Alausa Passport Office during his unscheduled visit to the facility.

He said Nigerians in diaspora were free to come back home with expired or non-expired Nigerian passports. The Minister said no Nigerian needed travel certificate to come back home, except children, whose parents were Nigerians, but their identity were yet to be established according to immigration rule.

“I am using this medium to instruct all Nigeria Immigration Officers worldwide to accord Nigerian travellers with expired passport use such passports to return safely back home henceforth,” he said.

The Minister also advised Nigerians in diaspora to update their travel documents ahead of time to avoid rush during emergency.

Earlier, Kasumu complained to the Minister that the Nigeria Immigration in America and Delta Airline prevented him from coming to Nigeria because of expired Nigerian passport.

Kasumu said he was able to return to Nigeria after he got a travel certificate he obtained through a relation in Nigeria.

“I am appealing to you sir that the Immigration should allow Nigerians with expired passport to come back to their country,” he said.…

Foreign / News / politics

FG grants citizenship to 286 foreigners

The Federal Executive Council has granted Nigerian citizenship to 286 foreign nationals.

The Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, made this known to State House Correspondents at the end of the FEC meeting.

The meeting was presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja on Wednesday.

Aregbesola said the successful candidates emerged out of 600 applicants. He disclosed that 208 of those approved were granted citizenship by Naturalization, while 78 others were granted citizenship by registration, and they cut across various countries of the world.

He said: “The Ministry of Interior through me presented the Advisory Committee on Nigeria citizenship approval to the Council today.

“And is the first set by the end of this first quarter or latest by the middle of the year another set will be presented to council.

“But what is it about?

“We received 600 applications from several people, foreign nationals who have been residing in Nigeria, but desirous of being Nigerians.

“These applicants are from virtually every part of the world.

“Americans, North and South Koreans, Australians, Europeans, Arabs, Asians, all over of the South Africa.

“Out of the 600 applicants, the Advisory Committee approved for the consideration of the council 280.

“Before the presentation, let me say, some agents of government scrutinized these applicants.

“The Agencies are the Department of State Services, the Foreign Affairs Ministry, the Nigeria Immigration Service, and the state of domicile of those individuals.”

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the Federal Government had in 2017 granted 335 foreign nationals citizenship.

Also commenting on Wednesday’s approval, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, described the decision as groundbreaking, especially at a time “when some Nigerians say the country is unfit to live in”.

Mohammed said: “It’s a groundbreaking memo as it will tell you because just as some people think Nigeria is not a fit and proper place to live, we have thousands of people who are applying daily all over the world from virtually every continent to be citizens of Nigeria.

“I think that is very …