WARDEN MESSAGES

Warden Message – Three Administrative Messages from the American Citizen Services Unit
February 1, 2007

1.    The Consular Section of U.S. Embassy Abuja will be closed to the public on the last Friday of every month, starting with Friday January 26, 2007.   Although routine services will not be available, the Consular Section will continue to provide emergency services.   The normal American Citizen Services Unit hours remain Monday through Friday between 8:30 and 11:30 am, except for local and American holidays and except for the last Friday of each month. 

2. The U.S. Embassy Abuja would like to remind all American citizens residing in the Abuja Consular District to check the expiration dates on their U.S. passports.  If the passport is within 3 months of expiration or has already expired, you are strongly encouraged to apply for renewal now.   Remember to check your children’s passports as well.   It is important to maintain a valid travel document at all times as passport renewal typically requires up to 2 weeks to process.  Renewing your passport early can avoid considerable inconvenience and expense should an urgent need to travel arise.  Renewal information and forms are available at http://travel.state.gov and at the Embassy.  Inquiries can also be directed to ConsularAbuja@state.gov.

3.      Calling all Wardens!   The U.S. Embassy would like to expand the American Citizen Warden program in the Abuja Consular District and could use a few more good people.  The primary responsibility of an American Citizen Warden is to serve as a point of contact between the Embassy and American citizens residing in a particular region or working with a particular organization in Nigeria.  Interested American citizen volunteers should contact the American Citizen Services Unit at ConsularAbuja@state.gov for more information and to request an application packet.

As always, Americans are encouraged to read the Consular Information Sheet (reiussed January 13) and latest Travel Warning (reissued Janaury 19) for Nigeria, available at http://travel.state.gov, for additional information on travel and security in Nigeria.

U.S. Embassy Abuja is located at Plot 1075 Diplomatic Drive, Central Business District, Abuja; the telephone number is 09-461-4000