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Below is a part of the report by the newspaper:
When THISDAY contacted the embassy for clarifications on why the popular Bishop was denied visa, a staff of the embassy in the media department, requested that an email be sent with the questions and promised to respond as soon as possible.
Curiously, the embassy, believed to be swift to responding to mails, neither acknowledged nor responded to the email sent since 5.05p.m. yesterday till the newspaper went to bed.
Embassy sources however hinted of the possibility that the popular preacher might have made some calls to individuals that would intervene on his behalf and the visa eventually issued.
In the mail sent by THISDAY, three questions were asked: “One, we understand that there was serious drama earlier today, when Bishop David Oyedepo was denied the US visa. However, because we could verify our facts from other applicants at the embassy today, our question, therefore, is on what grounds was a Bishop Oyedepo, known across the globe, denied a visa?
“Our sources in-house had also hinted that given his connection, the CG might likely be contacted and his visa might be issued eventually through a referral. If that’s true, why deny him in the first place?
“We also learnt that the trend of denying prominent Nigerians visa is rampant now, including the Abuja embassy. Is it part of plans to clampdown on Nigerians of a certain category and social status and on what basis?”