Nigerians residing in the United Kingdom have urged authorities to establish routine and permanent passport processing facilities outside London, following an intervention exercise held in Manchester.
According to Punch, citizens living in the country are specifically requesting a permanent passport centre in Manchester to ease the pressure on applicants. At present, many community members outside the capital city must travel long distances to process their travel documents.
The call gained momentum after Nigerian officials conducted a special passport intervention in Manchester to capture biometrics and process renewals for applicants based in northern England. Following that exercise, community members noted that a single temporary outreach is not enough to handle the growing population of citizens needing documentation across the region.
Many Nigerians who moved to the UK for work and study have consistently raised concerns over the stress and expenses involved in travelling down to the Nigerian High Commission in London for passport appointments. Securing appointments, spending hours on transit, and managing travel costs have remained major talking points among members of the diaspora community.
Vanguard reports that residents across England want these services regularised so that families and professionals can renew their passports without waiting for occasional official visits. Community advocates believe that setting up a standard office in Manchester would decentralise consular support, make document renewals faster, and reduce backlogs across the United Kingdom.
