For failing to comply with the ministerial directive on passport issuance timeline, all indicted officers and men of the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) are set to be used as examples, as the acting comptroller-general of the service, Mrs. Caroline Wura-Ola Adepoju, has ordered an investigation into the multiple complaints levelled against them.
Adepoju who expressed concern about the magnitude of complaints of misconduct levelled against her personnel in some passport offices nationwide after the minister declared passport related issues as a national emergency, ordered the release of phone numbers for Nigerians to report any form of misconduct by corrupt officers for appropriate sanctions.
NIS spokesman, Dotun Aridegbe, in a statement released yesterday, said; “We received with deep concern, some complaints of misconduct levelled against our personnel in some passport offices across the nation.”
He said the comptroller -general who deployed necessary resources and measures on the minister’s directive to expedite the processing and clearance of all passport backlogs had not only expressed disappointment at the complaints, but also ordered an investigation into the matter, especially with regard to the non-compliance with the ministerial directive.
He said, “The service has on a daily basis, monitored the compliance level at all passport offices nationwide and at our missions abroad. We receive daily reports on the production and issuance of passports from all passport control officers.
“As of 13th October 2023, most of our passport offices are producing passports of applicants enrolled on Wednesday, 11th October 2023,” he said.
The service spokesman however explained that applications for reissuance of lost passports and change of data take a longer time, adding that some applicants in this category may put the service in bad light when they complain of delay and noncompliance with the new timeline.
The statement appealed to members of the public to contact the service through X (Twitter), Facebook handles (@nigimmigration), 09121900655, 09121556359 and 09121477092 to report any form of misconduct by any member of the workforce for appropriate sanctions.
