Acting Consul-General at the Nigerian Consulate in New York, Mr. Tanko Suleiman, has said that the era of endless wait to obtain Nigeria visa was over with the biometric system.

Suleiman told the Correspondent, in New York, at the inauguration of the Nigerian biometric visa project that it was another achievement of the President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.

The Nigerian official said, “The essence of this new system is to make it easier for Nigerians and other people who have legitimate reasons to visit Nigeria, to obtain Nigerian visa.

“This is so that you don’t have to suffer before you get a Nigerian visa.

“You don’t have to compare another country with Nigeria and when you must, it has to be in terms of progress and level of our development, not to castigate us as a country.”

The Nigerian envoy informed Nigerians in the U.S. and those planning to visit Nigeria not to come to the Consulate for visa anymore.

According to him, OIS is the company approved by the Federal Government to handle the biometric visa project henceforth.

He explained that with the biometric visa issuance, an applicant could obtain his or her visa 48 hours after completing the biometric process.

Suleiman also explained that the status one one’s visa application could be tracked online to know the status and pick up date, time and venue.

According to him, this present dispensation in Nigeria believes in service to Nigerians wherever they are.

Suleiman added that the commencement of the biometric visa would ease the frustrations encountered by Nigerians in the diaspora and investors who want to do legitimate business in Nigeria.

“This present government of President Buhari believes first in service to the country and by country we mean both Nigeria and its citizens.

“So it is the ease of doing business and catching up with the international standard that necessitated this biometric visa issuance.

“The era of sitting down and doing everything with biro and paper has become a thing of the past,” he said. The Federal Government, on Monday, began the issuance of the biometric visa, becoming the first country in Africa so far. (NAN)