China has asked Nigeria to close down a visa application centre in Biejing for what it called “illegal activities”.

It could not be confirmed if there was such development in Germany and the United States.

SUNDAY PUNCH gathered that China had written a protest letter to the Nigerian Embassy in Beijing to communicate its disapproval.

The private visa application centre had opened to business to receive requests for intending travellers from China to Nigeria.

But the host country said Nigeria did not follow due process in setting up the agency, thus making its activities illegal.

A source confirmed the development to our correspondent on Saturday.

He said, “The information is correct. But it is not the Nigerian consular office that was asked to close down, it was the ‘illegal’ visa application centre. The Nigerian authorities did not inform China of its intention to open a visa application centre through a private company before it started operation.

“There is a procedure which must be followed. It is good to avoid a diplomatic row and to continue with the good relationship between the two countries on one hand and the citizens on the other hand”, he added.

In the note verbale written to the Nigerian embassy, China requested Nigeria to follow due process in setting up the private company as an agency for visa processing.

Note verbale is a diplomatic language, memorandum or note not signed, sent when an affair has continued a long time without any reply, in order to avoid the appearance of an urgency, which, perhaps, the affair does not require; and, on the other hand, not to afford any ground for supposing that it is forgotten, or that there is no intention of not prosecuting it any further.

Another source in China said, “It is true that the Chinese authorities asked Nigerian authorities to follow due process. The host country in situation like this will not take laws into its hands by shutting down the centre itself. It will only request the concerned country to do the right thing by closing down the place until the right things are done.”

When contacted last night, the spokesperson of the Nigerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ogbole Ode, said he was not aware of the development.

“I am not aware. It is already midnight in China so there is no way to confirm now”, Ode said.

But the spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy, Mr. Ding Awhua, neither confirmed nor denied the report.

He said, as far as I know, the Nigerian Embassy or the cousular office in Beijing is open to business as usual. China and Nigeria enjoy cordial diplomatic relations, even if there is any issue between the two countries, there is a diplomatic channel of communication. Both China and Nigeria are law abiding countries and will not do anything contrary to the law.”



Link: http://www.punchng.com/news/china-shuts-down-nigeria-visa-centre-in-beijing/

Corruption, criminality and fraud unabatedly is now the order of the the day, in GEJ's Nigeria, since dem always "need to do the needful" and "na their time to chop".

wales: Corruption, criminality and fraud unabatedly is now the order of the the day, in GEJ's Nigeria, since dem always "need to do the needful" and "na their time to chop".

Lol i like that ''gej's NIGERIA''
Well i hope we get 24 hours electricity in '''gej's NIGERIA'

If your the President of Nigeria, What could you do To make Nigeria Better?

Guys it is better to think on what to do to your country than to discriminate another Mans effort, Gej is a real Man. But do your part let me do my part and Nigeria will be the best country on earth.

Let's not focus on one person Because it is not easy to be a true leader. Let's be creative and more united; Because where there is no peace, there is no progress.

Let's join hand and make this country proud just as the "Super eaglets" did recently. One love Nigeria, One Love my Beloved Country. "One Nigeria"

Most Nigerian missions are scam centres in one or the other

wales: Corruption, criminality and fraud unabatedly is now the order of the the day, in GEJ's Nigeria, since dem always "need to do the needful" and "na their time to chop".

If u don't have Eyes to read and understand before commenting,at Least use the Braille side of the News.

.....

Since Ode and Chinese representative haven't yet confirmed the validity of the report yet .i can't really comment much on this but if it is true that centre is established without due process , then all necessary requirements should be fulfilled by the visa centre so as to regard their business legal .Nigerians are great people and we are not criminals ...

If it is going to stop more of the filthy Chinese from coming to Nigeria, so be it!

Nigeria and corruption: Two jolly friends.

And when yahoo published an article about how Nigerians are scammers. You were all attacking Americans. This is another one from china. Nigeria is a cancer of this world. Malaysia sentence Nigerians to death daily.

we need to do something in time

Nice one from China. Keep it coming guys!

hotwax: And when yahoo published an article about how Nigerians are scammers. You were all attacking Americans. This is another one from china. Nigeria is a cancer of this world. Malaysia sentence Nigerians to death daily.

we need to do something in time

DUMDUM!

We are seeing the usual gang of people who rush to pour petrol over themselves when they see any headline with "Nigeria" in it without reading the article in the first place.

The "illegality" here is that the visa application centre was opened without the Chinese being fully informed officially because unlike in Nigeria, you need to inform the govt of anything you intend to set up in China and get official permission.
I didn't see you screaming when the UK set up a visa application centre in Lagos. Well that is exactly what Nigeria has done in Beijing except that there has been a diplomatic error somewhere and China wasn't officially notified.

Get it now?

Oponu!

wales: Corruption, criminality and fraud unabatedly is now the order of the the day, in GEJ's Nigeria, since dem always "need to do the needful" and "na their time to chop".

There is smtin CERTAINLY wrong with yr head. Did you read the article at all b4 opening that mouth of yrs wide and allowing poo ooze out??

Useless set of people.but i dont knw y nigeria keeps begging china.we shud try nd 4get dem

iskalamong: It seems you guys commenting did not read the post. You guys read only the headline and jumped into conclusion. SMH.

Guy I no fit understand! While I was away, was there a law passed to make it compulsory to hate yourself? Or since when did Nigerians start suffering from this sort of inferiority complex that whenever any headline with the word "Nigeria" appears, they show up spouting rubbish without even reading the article?

That's how they were defending Ann Coulter who said that UNILAG has a credit card fraud programme. I remember after winning the AFCON, one fool even came on here to say that Nigeria doesn't deserve such glory because of "corruption".

F.ools! Why won't all of you self hating Nigerians please move to Gabon and leave the rest of us in peace? Nonsense!

Nigerians are one pathetic sets of people who blame others for the problems they caused!

Who voted these people in?

When shall we realise that it's time for power to be shifted from the Occultic Circles of these people who have been friends and family for donkey years?

When shall the son of a common man without connection become the president of Nigeria?

If Obama had been in Nigeria, I doubt he would have been a senator let alone a president.

We are the cause of all these problems plaguing us and we should be ashame of ourselves for the self-inflicted injuries.

Until we agree not to settle for
1. Less

2. Tribalism

3. Corruption

Election is fast approaching but what are you willing to do to curb or correct these menace?

Oook.if U̶̲̥̅̊ insist.

People don't read at all before jumping to comment.
Evidence of poor education.

2s£xy:
Nigerians are one pathetic sets of people who blame others for the problems they caused!

Who voted these people in?

When shall we realise that it's time for power to be shifted from the Occultic Circles of these people who have been friends and family for donkey years?

When shall the son of a common man without connection become the president of Nigeria?

If Obama had been in Nigeria, I doubt he would have been a senator let alone a president.

We are the cause of all these problems plaguing us and we should be ashame of ourselves for the self-inflicted injuries.

Until we agree not to settle for
1. Less

2. Tribalism

3. Corruption

Election is fast approaching but what are you willing to do to curb or correct these menace?

Here is another one of them. "It's all our fault, come let us beat ourselves and bathe in kerosense."

Obama would not be a senator in Nigeria? The same Obama who is the son of two high ranking CIA assets from wealthy backgrounds? The one who had sufficient wealth and connections to get into Harvard and become the first ever non white president of the Harvard Law Review? The same Obama who was part of the Skull and Bones Fraternity which has produced 7 of America's last 8 presidents? The same Obama that had the funding and backing to get into the US senate before turning 39 and thus become the youngest ever non white senator in American history?

Please if you don't know what you are talking about, move to Gabon and leave our dirty, disgusting, corrupt Nigeria for us. I will never apologise for being Nigerian and if you don't like it, feel free to have intercourse with your nearest electricity installation.

Nawa oh! Plenty Anti-G.E.Js. . . .

I so love this site, I learn a lot here

.......Na #teamfreshair I be

I also think it is very irresponsible of Punch newspaper to write such a headline, knowing full well that the facts of the story contradict the headline. What is the aim? To take a cheap shot at Goodluck Jonathan? There are a thousand and one ways to take a shot at him without dragging Nigeria's name through the mud.
More mature journalists understand that you don't cut off your nose to spite your face.
Even if you had to make it a political thing, there are more subtle (and effective!) ways of doing this. For example, under a less inflammatory headline like "China Closes Down Nigerian Visa Application Centre", you could have included a paragraph midway through, listing a timeline of negative diplomatic incidents during the current president's tenure and a closing line like "It remains to be seen how the Foreign Affairs Ministry will deal with the latest crisis."

Such subtle propaganda does not harm the image of the whole country along with your individual target and as BBC and CNN will tell you, it is much more effective.

I wonder what sort of training our local journalists receive.

Scary

donwilly3: Useless set of people.but i dont knw y nigeria keeps begging china.we shud try nd 4get dem

na u b mumu...if u dont beg china na who u go beg...chinese makes things easier 4 d world..even yankee...so take ur time 2 read d content..

Osujona jokross: I so love this site, I learn a lot here

yeah me too

*singing in D'banj's voice

<<We (nigeria) are on top of the world (of corruption) in front of the world, oh oh, oh oh. Look at us now, how battered we are as a country due to coruption. Oh oh oh oh.

May God help Nigeria

nigeria is a cancer. let us put an end to it. divide us!