Nigerian driver’s licence accepted in Europe, U.S. – FRSC

on February 20, 2014

Lagos – The upgraded Nigerian driver’s licence is recognised in the U.S. and Europe, the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) said on Thursday.

The Lagos Sector Commander of the FRSC, Mr Chidi Nkwonta, in Lagos said that three states in the U.S. and seven countries in Europe accepted the licence.

According to him, the licence is recognised in Maryland, Washington DC and California in the U.S. as well as Germany, Turkey, Switzerland, Poland, Spain, Austria and Sweden in Europe.

“Maryland accepts Nigerian driver’s licence provided it verifies that it is genuine; Washington accepts Nigerian driver’s licence, and California too.

“We have seven countries already in Europe that accept our driver’s licence, and we are working on other countries in Europe, “ Nkwonta said.

The commander added that the FRSC was working hard to make sure that the Nigerian driver’s licence was accepted in all states in the U.S.

He said that the data base and identity of the holder of the licence could be accessed in those countries, and that genuineness of the licence could be ascertained.

Nkwonta said that the licence contained a lot of security features that would make it difficult to produce fake copies.

“These countries know the processes of obtaining a driver’s licence in Nigeria and the security features the licence contains; once they confirm its genuineness, they accept it,“ he said.

He, however, said that the holder would only be allowed to use the licence for a period of time in those countries.

The sector commander said that, after the period, the authorities of the countries would issue their own driver’s licence.

He urged applicants to be determined to obtain the genuine driver’s licence. (NAN).

Source: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/02/nigerian-drivers-licence-accepted-europe-u-s-frsc/

Remittance: Nigerians in diaspora sent home $21 billion in 2015!

With about $21 billion sent home by Nigerians in diaspora in 2015, the country is the sixth largest receiver of remittances in the world, the Migration of Remittance Factbook 2016 has shown.

The country is also by far the largest receiver of remittances in sub-Saharan Africa, receiving a total of $34.8 billion this year.

The report, which relied on data gathered from January to December 1, 2015, was compiled by the Global Knowledge Partnership on Migration and Development with support from the World Bank, German, Swedish and Swiss governments.

An analysis of the report by PREMIUM TIMES also shows that the United States and the United Kingdom are by far the most lucrative destinations for Nigerian migrants. Nigerians at home received a total of $9.4 billion ($5.7 billion from the US and $3.7 billion from the UK) from both countries in 2015.

According to the report, the U.S. is the top remittance-sending country in the world. A total of $56.3 billion was sent out of the US to other parts of the world. The second largest remittance-sending country is Saudi Arabia with $36.9 billion followed by Russia ($32.6 billion), Switzerland ($24.7billion) and Germany ($20.8 billion).

The report also shows that the cost of sending money within Africa is the second most expensive in the world (the most expensive being the cost of sending money between Australia to the South Pacific country of Vanuatu).

For every $200 remitted from South Africa to Zambia, senders are charged 19 per cent. The cost is 17.4 per cent to send the same amount from South Africa- Botswana and 17.3 per cent from Tanzania to Uganda.

In comparison, it cost just 0.6 per cent to send the same amount of money from Saudi Arabia to Nepal and 3.1 per cent from the United Arab Emirate to anywhere in the world.

Migration

According to the report, Nigeria is the third most preferred destination for migrants in Africa after South Africa and Ivory Coast.

Nigeria is the fifth emigration country in the continent behind Somalia, Burkina Faso, Sudan and Democratic Republic of Congo.

The report observed that 2.5 per cent (23.2 million) of the total population of sub-Saharan Africa are migrants.

The study showed that Africa is by far the choicest destination for African migrants. 84.6 per cent of African migrants are living within the region.

While 4.2 per cent African migrants are found in high-income countries such as the US and in the European Union.

The top 10 migrant destinations in the world, the report revealed, are the US (46.1 million), Saudi Arabia (14.6 million), Germany (11.1 million), Russia (11 million), United Arab Emirate (8 million), UK (7.8 million), France (7.5 million), Canada (7.4 million), Spain (6.6 million) and Australia (6.5 million).

Source: http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/top-news/195633-remittance-nigerians-in-diaspora-sent-home-21-billion-in-2015.html