Ohanaeze Ndigbo commends UK government for opening Visa Office in Enugu

Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide has expressed profound gratitude to the  British High Commission and the Government of the United Kingdom (UK) for the establishment of the Visa Office in Enugu, capital of the South East geo-political zone.

The apex pan Igbo organisation, in a statement by Dr. Chiedozie Alex Ogbonnia, its National Publicity Secretary, said that the group’s President General, Chief Engr. Dr. Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, had made the request for the establishment of the Visa Office during the courtesy visit of the British High Commissioner to Nigeria, His Excellency, Dr. Richard Montgomery, at the National Secretariat of Ohanaeze Ndigbo in Enugu on June 27, 2023.

Iwuanyanwu, the statement said, had pointed out to the High Commissioner that people from the South East zone accounted for over sixty per cent of Nigerians traveling to the United Kingdom on a daily basis and wondered at the unfairness of subjecting them to the inconvenience of traveling to Abuja or Lagos to obtain their UK visas.

Chief Iwuanyanwu, had also “seized the occasion to highlight the longstanding relationship between the South East of Nigeria and the United Kingdom which spanned the religious, education and culture; citing the role of the Church Missionary Society (CMS), a Scottish religious body that arrived Onitsha for evangelism in 1857.

“Iwuanyanwu reminded the High Commissioner that there was a British Council in Enugu and expressed surprise that the Office was closed without sufficient reason. He assured the High Commissioner that a Visa Office in Enugu will promote bilateral collaborations that will enhance the growth and sustainable development of the South East region’s economy.”

The statement noted that the Ohanaeze President General was, therefore very happy at the news of the opening of a new temporary submission centre for UK visas in Enugu beginning September 13, 2023.

The facility, according to the UK Diplomatic Office, will operate out of the Omedel Luxury Hotel, 4/6 Link Road off Pascal and Jerk Bus stop, Independence Layout, Enugu and will offer twice-a-week services in the interim.

In view of this development, Iwuanyanwu urged the people of the South East to avail themselves of the opportunities the Visa Office has provided, adding that the current global dynamics calls for consistent exchange of values between the UK and Nigerians.