News

British Home Office To Scrap Biometric Residence Card For Nigerians

Published

3 weeks ago

September 1, 2024

By Mario Deepromoter

Nigerians living in the UK will no longer receive biometric residence cards (BRCs) or biometric residence permits (BRP) as from December 31, 2024 as the Home office is replacing them with a new online eVisa system.

According to the Central Association of Nigerians in the United Kingdom (CANUK), part of the UK government’s programme to replace all physical migration documents with digital versions, the eVisa, has been aggressively promoted throughout 2024 and by the end of the year, such physical documents will replace the current hard copy visa regime altogether.

CANUK noted that it means Nigerians who have BRCs and BRPs will no longer need them as they will now get a digital version, “which saves them from having to carry any physical documentation around”.

eVisa is an online record of your immigration status and the conditions of your permission to enter or stay in the UK.

CANUK Publicity Secretary, Rose Graham and Assistant Publicity Secretary, Mohammed Yiosese in a statement on Sunday, said, “Nigerians affected by the change will need to create a UKVI account to be able to access their eVisa.

“At a meeting with the Nigerian community leaders yesterday, Home Office officials stressed that updating a physical document to an eVisa does not affect the immigration status or the condition of anybody’s permission to enter or stay in the UK.

“During a four-hour meeting with representatives from the Central Association of Nigerians in the UK (Canuk), the Nigeria in Diaspora Organisation (Nido) and high commission officials at the Home Office, a presentation was made on the new regime.”

CANUK quoted the Home Office as saying, ‘In the future, you’ll be able to use an eVisa to travel to the UK. You will not need to carry a physical document, except for your current passport, which must be registered to your UKVI account. Until the end of 2024, you will need to continue to carry your physical document when you travel, if you have one.

‘All BRP holders should visit www.gov.uk/evisa now to create a UKVI account to access their eVisa. Holders of other physical immigration documents, including passports containing vignette stickers or ink stamps and BRCs, can also find information there on what they need to do to create a UKVI account to access their eVisa

‘Once you have created your UKVI account you will be able to view the details of your eVisa online, for example your type of permission, when it expires and your conditions of stay in the UK. Your eVisa will be linked to your passport in your UKVI account.

‘You must keep your passport or ID card details up to date in your UKVI account and tell us about any changes so that your immigration status can be easily identified at the UK border. You’ll still need to carry your current passport with you.’

It noted that at the meeting, Home Office officials pointed out that eVisas will remain valid even when passports expire, and new ones have been applied for.

CANUK was formed by the Nigeria High Commission in the UK in 2005 in recognition of a need to unite the various Nigerian groups under one umbrella organisation to ensure that the welfare, views, and community interests of Nigerians in the foreign country are represented in a harmonious and organised manner.

News

Ecoparl: Speaker Ibrahima Reaffirms Parliament’s Dedication to Regional Unity

Published

4 hours ago

September 18, 2024

Gloria Ikibah

By Gloria Ikibah

The Speaker of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Parliament, Rt. Honourable Memounatou Ibrahima, restated that the parliament remains committed to ensuring the unity and integration of the people within the subregion.

According to Speaker Ibrahima, the Parliament will continue to use parliamentary diplomacy to engage countries that are considering leaving the bloc due to political challenges, such as Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger, as a result of military coups they experienced.

The Speaker stated this when she led a delegation of the ECOWAS Parliament on a working visit to the President of the Nigerian Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio, on Wednesday in Abuja.

She highlighted that while countries may break formal cooperation, the people of the region remain interconnected, adding that the Parliament, as representatives of these people, will work to maintain the unity.

Ibrahima expressed gratitude to the Nigerian Senate for supporting ECOWAS by providing necessary facilities for their plenary sessions, even as she discussed the socio-political challenges facing the region, as well as how parliamentarians can contribute more to address these issues.

She said: “We strengthen parliamentary diplomacy, because we know that the countries might break cooperation but we cannot separate the population. The population always live together and we as representatives of the people, we are doing our best so that this living together will continue to be reality and even made better.

“We came to thank him for all the facilities that the senate has been providing to the ECOWAS Parliament to facilitate the holding of our sessions here in Abuja. We also discussed on the socio-political situation in the community. We also discussed on the ways parliamentarians can make more contributions on the various issues and the challenges that we are experiencing in ECOWAS”.

The President of the Senate,

Senator Akpabio, who was represented by his Deputy, Senator Barau Jubril, commended Ibrahima’s leadership and her efforts in using parliamentary diplomacy to foster cooperation within ECOWAS, especially in light of the challenges posed by countries considering an exit from the bloc.

He noted that since Speaker Meimounatou assumed office, she has deployed enormous parliamentary diplomacy to bear not only on the level of cooperation with institutions in the region but also on those that have expressed the wish to quit the regional block.

Naijablitznews.com reports that Senator Jubril is the First Deputy Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament.

He said: “Since she was elected the Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament, she has been up and doing in terms of giving leadership to the parliament. It is in that regard that she is here trying to chart a better course for the parliament to make sure that she brings parliamentary diplomacy to bear in terms of our cooperation not only with those who are within the community as we speak but also even those who are attempting to leave the community.

“It is in that respect that she is here, and what she is doing is commendable. She has come to strengthen her idea and initiative of making the parliament stronger and more effective”.

News

Air Force Begins Moving Electoral Materials For Edo Guber Election

Published

6 hours ago

September 18, 2024

Kayode Sanni-Arewa

By Kayode Sanni-Arewa

The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has began airlifting the sensitive election materials for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to Benin, Edo State, ahead of the upcoming governorship election scheduled for September 21, 2024.

This was disclosed on Wednesday by the Deputy Director, Public Relations and Information, Group Captain Kabiru Ali.

The operation is part of the NAF’s efforts to ensure the timely and secure delivery of materials necessary for a smooth electoral process.

This development reinforces the collaboration between NAF and INEC to facilitate logistics and ensure a peaceful election in Edo State.

The Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Hasan Bala Abubakar, had previously reiterated NAF’s commitment to providing airlift support for the swift movement of electoral materials during a meeting with INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu.

This airlift operation is a crucial aspect of NAF’s constitutional responsibility to provide Military Aid to Civil Authority, underscoring the force’s dedication to supporting democratic processes in Nigeria. With the election just days away, the NAF’s timely intervention will help ensure the successful conduct of the governorship elections in Edo State.

Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State had earlier accused the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, of working with the All Progressives Congress (APC) to hunt the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) members and supporters in the state and force them into hiding ahead of September 21 governorship election.

Obaseki, who made the allegation when a delegation led by the former Head of State, Abdusalam Abubakar, met with him to get the governor and his party to sign peace accord, said that the IGP had made nonsense of his (Obaseki’s) role as the chief security officer of the state.

The governor had said that the police chief obtained a warrant to arrest 60 members and supporters of PDP in Edo and that the IGP sent an armed “gang” of policemen who invaded the state, attacked PDP members, shot at a local government chairman and arrested 10 persons who are currently being detained in Abuja without charges.

Asked by the former head of state if his party would sign the peace accord, Obaseki said, “The person who is supposed to enforce the peace accord is now an active participant in creating a destructive environment.

“We are now in a situation where from the Inspector General’s office, there are armed gang policemen who came into Edo State, invaded, arrested and took away PDP members.

News

“Dancing gives me abundant joy and peace of mind”-Gov Adeleke

Published

6 hours ago

September 18, 2024

Kayode Sanni-Arewa

By Kayode Sanni-Arewa

The Governor of Osun State, Ademola Adeleke, has given reasons why he loves dancing.

The ‘Dancing Governor’, as he is fondly called, revealed this on Wednesday while responding to a tweet on X.

An X user, @Iwogoke, while praising the governor, stated that Adeleke has been busy fulfilling his electoral promises to the people of Osun State, while his political opponents believe he is only good at dancing.

Iwogoke tweeted, “I’m not flattering you, Your Excellency, your opponents think you can only dance but while they are busy shouting and calling you ‘Dancing Governor’, you are busy fulfilling your electoral promises to the people.”

Responding to the tweet via his verified X account, Adeleke explained that he loves dancing because it brings him joy.

Speaking further on his love for dancing, Adeleke highlighted that while dancing brings him immense happiness, his greater fulfilment comes from delivering the dividends of democracy to the people of Osun.

Outlining his administration’s efforts to enhance the state’s infrastructure, he noted that primary health centre rehabilitation is underway in at least 200 out of the 332 wards across Osun State, adding that road construction projects are also progressing in every local government area.

He wrote, “Dancing gives me joy, but delivering on my electoral promises and providing the dividends of democracy to the good people of Osun gives me even greater joy. Rehabilitation of primary health centers is ongoing in at least 200 out of 332 wards, and road construction is progressing in every Local Government!”