The Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide has expressed profound gratitude to the British High Commission and the Government of the United Kingdom for granting the request by the President General, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, MFR, OFR, CFR, for the establishment of a Visa Office in Enugu, the headquarters of the South-east of Nigeria.
The request for a visa office in Enugu was made during the courtesy visit of the British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Dr. Richard Montgomery, at the national secretariat of Ohanaeze Ndigbo in Enugu on June 27, 2023.
The national publicity secretary, Dr. Alex Ogbonnia, said Iwuanyanwu, after the kola nut ceremony, emphasised that the South-east zone accounted for over sixty percent of Nigerians traveling to the United Kingdom on a daily basis and wondered why the rationale and the unfairness of subjecting the Igbo to the inconvenience of traveling to Abuja or Lagos to obtain their UK visas.
“He 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.”
