Nigerian High Commission Owes UK N3.3bn In Parking Tickets

Nigerian High Commission Owes UK N3.3bn In Parking Tickets

The Nigerian High Commission in London owes £7.1m ((N3.3bn) in congestion charges and parking tickets.

The authorities in the United Kingdom made this revelation.

Giving a breakdown on Tuesday, the UK Foreign Office said Nigeria was owing £7, 063, 965. This is from congestion fees, and £47, 165  in parking tickets.

The figure amounts to more than two times the entire 2020 budget of the high commission, which stands at N1.6bn

London charges a daily congestion fee of £11.50  ((N5, 405). This is if one drives a car within the central zone at any time between 7 am and 6 pm on weekdays.

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The charge was put in place to dissuade people from using their private vehicles. Instead, they are encouraged to patronise the public transport system. This system was done to prevent traffic congestion.

In a statement on Tuesday, Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab, said the government had held meetings with the embassies to press for payment.

Raab said the UK government had written to diplomatic missions and international organisations with debts. The International missions were given the opportunity to either pay outstanding debts or appeal against specific fines. That is if they detected errors in the figures or considered that they had been recorded incorrectly.

Incidentally, London is the favourite destination of the President, Major General  Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), where he has spent not less than 240 non-consecutive days in the last five years mostly on health grounds, private matters and investment summits.

The congestion charge for parked vehicles in central London goes towards investment into public transport.

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