The federal government has ordered the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) to clear the over 200,000 pending applications for international passport within two weeks.
Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, gave the order yesterday during a meeting with top government officials, the acting comptroller-general, Adepoju Carol, and the managing director of Iris Smart Technologies, a third-party company in charge of the production of passport booklets.
Warning that they must be swift in carrying out his directive to clear the over 200, 000 passport backlogs from all its offices, Tunji-Ojo, added that the ultimatum is sequel to his earlier promise to remove “bottlenecks in the acquisition of passports and other immigration documents”.
The minister decried delays in the processing and enrolment of passports in Nigeria, which he said has been a source of frustration for citizens, causing significant delays in obtaining crucial travel documents,
Tunji-Ojo who stated that it has become an embarrassment to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, said, “I represent him here as your minister. That embarrassment is mine now. I am not changing my words. I need the backlog cleared in two weeks.
“As far as I am concerned, the issue of passports is a national emergency. I keep getting emails daily from Nigerians complaining. We cannot continue like that.”
While charging both the IRIS team and officers of the NIS to act swiftly, the minister revealed that he receives updates on passport enrolments on a daily basis, with daily reports on enrolment from NIS on his phone.
“This is my best way to be in the know of the situation. Nigerians deserve the best. It is their right to own a passport if they can afford it.
“We will also ensure that our debts are cleared by November. My position remains that the delay in the process of obtaining the passport must end,” the minister added.
Responding, the acting comptroller -general of NIS, Adepoju Carol, and managing director, Yinka Fisher, assured the minister that all necessary resources and measures would be deployed to ensure the expedited processing of pending passport applications
She disclosed that though the number of enrolment as of yesterday morning was over 200,000 across the country, the Immigration Service has been able to secure enough booklets to clear the backlog.
In the same vein, Dr Tunji-Ojo, held strategic meetings with the controller -general of the Federal Fire Service, Abdulganiyu Jaji, his counterparts, the controller-general of the Nigeria Correctional Service (NCoS), Haliru Nababa, and the commandant-general of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Dr Abubakar Ahmed Audi.
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