………urges the British High Commission to review the VISA processing fees in Enugu Visa Center
By Tony Ezike
The Director General, South-East Governors Forum, Senator Uche Ekwunife CON on Tuesday paid a courtesy call to the Country Director, British Deputy High Commission, Mr Mark Smithson at the Enugu regional office to discuss modalities for partnership with the South-East Governors Forum.
Senator Ekwunife raised concerns about the cost of processing United Kingdom ViSAs for South-East travellers seeking UK VISA for businesses and academic purposes, she emphasized that it has become very expensive for travelers considering the high cost hinged on each category of the visas. She urged the commission to consider cutting down the cost. She equally adviced them to do more profiling of the applicants as majority who were denied visas have genuine intentions to travel.
She engaged the Country Director Mr Smithson on economic areas that are of priority to the Southeast Governors Forum (SEGOF) which include, security, power generation, exploration of mineral deposits, revitalisation of moribund industries, construction of passenger and cargo rail, human capital development, construction and rehabilitation of road infrastructure, strengthening of the Igbo apprenticeship system, among others.
She specifically hinted on the collaborative efforts of the South East governors under the Chairmanship of Senator Hope Uzodimma, Governor of Imo State, which has triggered remarkable changes in the history of the region’s democracy.
Mr Smithson in his submissions outlined possible areas of partnership between the commission and the Forum, like Promoting Trade and Investment, Human Capital Development, Supporting SMEs, Capacity Building, Promoting Innovation and Technology, etc.
He said it was an honour to engage in such a productive discussion with the SEGOF DG and expressed optimism about the opportunities that lie ahead, noting that her insights and vision for a potential partnership were truly impressive. Mr Smithson disclosed that the commission looks forward to the possibility of working with SEGOF and achieving great things in the future, considering the quality of interactions he had with the Forum DG, Senator Uche Ekwunife.
