“We Do not Charge Unauthorised Fee”, Insists Nigerian Embassy in Paris

Michael Olugbode in Abuja

Nigerian Embassy in Paris, France has said that it was not into charging any unauthorised fee, insisting that all charges collected were clearly stated and in line with Nigerian government approval.

The embassy in a press statement issued to counter the negative narrative by a dissatisfied Nigerian citizen in France, Henry Abebe said the federal government approved the collection of administrative fees at Nigerian Missions abroad, insisting that all its charges were clearly stated on the Embassy’s website and displayed conspicuously

The statement read: “The attention of the Nigerian Embassy in Paris has been drawn to a defamatory comment made on 27 May 2021 on the social media platform, Twitter, by a certain @henryabebe. In the tweet, @henryabebe alleges a lack of professionalism by the staff of the Nigerian Embassy in Paris and references arbitrary charges for services rendered.”

The statement added that: “The Embassy categorically refutes these allegations by this individual, who is clearly not familiar with the services rendered by the Embassy and has not been following the regular public notices updated on the website of the Mission (www.nigerianfrance.org), and public areas at the Chancery. Such notices are also regularly transmitted to Nigerian community associations in France, as part of the outreach efforts of the Embassy.”

It said: “We wish to state that all the staff of Nigerian Embassy in Paris exhibit the highest levels of professionalism and respect in delivering services to Nigerians. @henryabebe, in his tweet, indicated that Embassy officials were treating Nigerians with disrespect and were charging thirty euros (€30) as an administrative fee, sixty euros (€60) for legalisation, and two hundred and fifty euros (€250) for express service.”

It said: “Contrary to @henryabebe’s allegations, the Nigerian Embassy in France has been at the forefront of delivering efficient and timely consular and immigration services with the highest levels of professionalism. It is pertinent to highlight that due to the efficiency and professionalism of the Nigerian Embassy in Paris, Nigerians from various countries in Europe travel to Paris to apply for their passports, with a same-day collection policy.”

The statement claimed that. “Nigerians in France and across Europe who are familiar with the high quality of the services of the Embassy in Paris, will attest to the transparency, efficiency, professionalism and courteousness of our officers and staff in dealing with applicants for passports, visas and other consular services. Furthermore, the Mission has a feedback mechanism for dealing promptly with genuine urgent passport and consular cases, as well as complaints from unsatisfied applicants.”

It revealed that as part of the efforts to enhance service delivery, the Embassy in the month of February and March 2021 organized training and retraining courses on professionalism and service delivery for its staff, and also introduced measures to enable applicants for consular services to book appointments online to ensure crowd control and promote transparency.

The embassy however regretted that many Nigerians refused to adhere to the online appointment policy and would rather present themselves at the embassy without appointments.

It explained that: “It is pertinent to note that 24 May 2021, the day preceding the day @henryabebe presented at the Embassy, was Ascension Day, which was a public holiday in France. Consequently, the following day, 26 May 2021, witnessed all the people who had missed their appointments due to the public holiday of 24 May 2021 and many others without appointments, trooping into the Embassy.

“The Embassy staff assured our nationals that they would be attended to. However, due to the limited sitting space inside the Chancery resulting from COVID-19 restrictions, some of them were advised to stay in the queue at the entrance of the Chancery. Unfortunately, arguments ensued and the security staff explained the situation to our nationals, who failed to exercise patience. Some of them threatened to burn down the Embassy and attack the officials.”

It said: “The Nigerian Embassy in Paris assures all Nigerian citizens and the general public that it will continue to provide timely, efficient, and professional passport, visa and consular service to our nationals, whom we treat with the highest levels of respect. Our record of efficient and compassionate service delivery is proven and has been attested to by numerous Nigerian citizens who have given honest reviews.”