Nigeria’s Interior Minister, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, on
Thursday, in Enugu, unveiled the enhanced electronic Passport facility of the
Nigeria Immigration Service, NIS.
He also commissioned the Passport Production Centre of the
NIS at the Enugu Passport office.
At the event, he disclosed that over 250,000 processed
passports were unclaimed by their owners.
The Minister, who captioned his speech, “Excellent Service
Delivery is Uncompromisable”, said he was delighted that the enhanced
e-Passport had been made available to the good people of the South East.
He noted that “The enhanced e-Passport comes in various
categories, including the 64-page-10-year validity Passport which is quite
convenient for frequent travellers.
“It is a product of the latest technology in passport
administration and issuance. Only very few countries in the world can boast of
it as of today. The document is of higher grade with additional 25 security
features than the one currently in use.
“It is polycarbonate in design and therefore
water-resistant. It cannot be compromised by counterfeiters and identity
thieves.”
He added that the NIS had continued to ensure that the
Nigerian Passport satisfied all the standards set out by the International
Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).
Aregbesola said despite some challenges witnessed in the
past, “it will interest you to know that between 2019 and now, the NIS has
issued about 3 million passports to Nigerians. Last year alone, 1.3 million
passports were issued.
“Also, last time I checked, over 250,000 passports remain
uncollected by applicants. There owners will probably be among those
complaining they are yet to receive their passports.
“Nevertheless, many applicants are not going to have their
passports because of the errors in their applications, which delayed
processing.
“They may not know because they applied through touts and
other illegal channels.
“A major challenge of passport administration is the illegal
patronage of touts and NIS officials, instead of the stipulated online
platform.
“Our application system is designed to eliminate personal
contact, other than for biometric purpose. This is to curb corruption,
extortion and inflation. But as long as applicants try to cut corners, they
defeat our purpose and create avoidable problems.”
He revealed that the system makes room for six weeks for
fresh application and three weeks for renewal.
According to him, the period of time would enable the NIS to
investigate and verify claims by the applicants.
He lauded the Governor of Enugu State, and indeed the good
people of the State, “for the excellent support and cooperation that have
consistently accorded all the agencies under our Ministry in this State.”
In his remarks at the event, Governor Ifeanyi, represented
by the Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Simon Ortuanya assured that the
State Government would continue to partner with the NIS and sister agencies
towards ensuring enduring peace and security in the State.
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