Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, minister of interior, has given the
Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) two weeks to clear all the pending passport
applications.
Tunji-Ojo gave the order on Thursday during a meeting with
Caroline Adepoju, acting comptroller-general of immigration, in Abuja.
The meeting was also attended by Yinka Fisher, managing
director of Iris Smart Technologies, the
company in charge of the production of Nigerian passport booklets.
The minister said the order was in fulfilment of his promise
to remove all bottlenecks in the acquisition of Nigerian passports and other
immigration documents.
“Delays in the
processing and enrolment of passports in Nigeria have been a source of
frustration for citizens, causing significant delays in obtaining crucial
travel documents,” NAN quoted Tunji-Ojo as saying.
“Having to deal with about 200,000 backlogs calls for a
national emergency.
“As far as I am concerned, the issue of passport is a
national emergency; I keep getting emails daily from Nigerians complaining.
“We cannot continue
like this. It has become an embarrassment to President Bola Tinubu. 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.
“I get daily reports on enrolment from NIS on my 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.”
In their remarks, Adepoju and Fisher assured the minister
that all necessary resources and measures would be deployed to clear the
backlog of passport applications.
Adepoju said while the number of enrolments as of Thursday
morning spills into 200,000 across the country, the NIS has secured enough
booklets to clear the backlog.
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