The newly-elected president of the Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation Qatar (NIDO-Qatar), Ajibade Lateef, has urged Nigerians in Qatar to be model citizens and engage in community activities across the country. Lateef takes over from the outgoing Victor Ikoli as leader of the around 10,000 Nigerians living and working in the country.
Lateef, set to be sworn in tomorrow (Friday), said the organisation would ensure a better flow of information from the Qatar government and the Nigerian embassy to community members.
“I would like the community to understand that we are here for them, and the executive members of NIDO Qatar are part of the community. We are open to ideas to better the community. I realise we haven’t done much to bring more people into the organisation and disseminate information. Also, we are setting up welfare committees and coordinators to get information across to Nigerians across the country. Hopefully, we can get Nigerians the welfare they need and give them a platform to share their problems and serve as a link to the embassy,” Lateef said.
He also stated that the organization would work with the Nigerian embassy to address issues surrounding the effective disposition of services and ensure the passport renewal exercise becomes more convenient.
“We need to always meet with them to express the problems of Nigerians and as well get the services more accessible to more Nigerians. Most times, the embassy closes early, and many Nigerians work until late. So we hope to create a platform for everyone to have better access to the embassy’s services by creating a digital space for processing services.”
Besides, Lateef urged Nigerians to be law-abiding residents. He stressed that community members with labour issues could approach the Nigerian representatives at the Ministry of Labour to facilitate the processing of their complaints. According to him, two Nigerians have been trained by the ministry as paralegals and serve as intermediaries between the community and the ministry.
Meanwhile, the outgoing president Victor Ikoli in a statement, said, “We take this opportunity to thank Nigerians for their support and cooperation, which has resulted in a smooth transition as a new president is inaugurated on Friday. We wish him and his new administration success in their projects and for the betterment of the community. I implore members of the community to lend them their unwavering support for the sake of all. I’d also like to thank the departing executive for their hard work and dedication to the organisation.”
