Dr Paul Ekorong a Dong, Consul-General, Consulate-General of the Republic of Cameroon, on Monday urged the Federal Government to reconsider giving resident permits to Cameroonians in Nigeria.

Ekorong a Dong told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that it was imperative for the Nigerian government to consider the plight of many Cameroonian nationals living in Nigeria without resident permits.

“Presently, we have about 500,000 Cameroonians in Nigeria.

“But, a higher number of these people are either visiting Nigeria for business transactions, or other personal endeavours that makes their stay often short.

“And many more Cameroonian citizens like Nigeria and want to come and stay in the country.

“Their greatest problem of coming to live in Nigeria today is their difficulty in getting resident permits.

“The Cameroonian Government will therefore want the Nigerian Government to consider giving resident permits to Cameroonians who are committed to doing business and living in Nigeria,’’ he said.

The consul-general also noted that Cameroonians were currently being made to go through rigorous processes when seeking Subject To be Revised (STR ) visas to Nigeria.

Ekorong a Dong, however, said that Nigerians were being accepted into Cameroon with “just” the presentation of a consular card from their Consulate in Cameroon.

The envoy said that his government would appreciate reciprocity in its present relationship with Nigeria.

“Today, there are about six million Nigerians living happily in different parts of Cameroon, whereas, we only have about 500,000 Cameroonians who are not even sure of their stay in Nigeria.

“We therefore, need to harmonise our internal dispositions, because Cameroon today sees Nigeria as a big brother,’’ he added.(NAN)