Nigerians in Italy have decried the inadequate supply of 500 passport booklets for more than 1.5 million registered members.

The Chairman, Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation Europe (NIDOE), Italy Chapter, George Omo-Iduhon, said the 500 passport booklets cannot serve the number of citizens that needs it.

Mr Omo-Iduhon on Saturday in Lagos, said of about three million registered Nigerians in Italy, 1.5 million are in need of passports, which had prevented them from returning home or getting jobs.

“The number of booklets allocated to the embassy in Italy, which is 500 is insignificant to the number of applicants; even giving Italy 20,000 booklets in a month may not go round.

“Using the same sharing formula for all the countries in Europe cannot work in Italy where we have more Nigerian residents. We cannot be compared with Sweden with fewer number of Nigerians,” he said.

Mr Omo-Iduhon said members of NIDOE were “appealing to the relevant government agencies and our amiable Minister for Internal Affairs, Alhaji Rauf Aregbesola, to help us address this issue.”

NIDOE urged the federal government to “address this problem because Italy serves as the gateway to other countries in Europe,” especially for Nigerians.

(NAN)