Nigeria’s Minister of Interior, Hon. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, has issued a strong directive to the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) to speed up the clearance of over 200,000 pending international passport applications within the next two weeks.
The Minister made this order during a meeting with key government officials, including the Acting Comptroller General, Caroline Adepoju, and the Managing Director of Iris Smart Technologies, the third-party company responsible for passport booklet production.
The Minister’s directive aligns with his commitment to removing barriers in the passport and immigration document acquisition processes.
It is an embarrassment to President Tinubu
The persistent delays in passport processing and enrollment in Nigeria have been a source of frustration for citizens, leading to significant delays in obtaining crucial travel documents.
Emphasizing the urgency of the situation, the Minister referred to the backlog of approximately 200,000 applications as a national emergency.
He stressed that this issue had become an embarrassment to both President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and himself as the President’s representative. The Minister has made it clear that he expects the backlog to be completely cleared within two weeks.
The minister receives daily report on his phone
During the meeting, Acting Comptroller General Caroline Adepoju and Managing Director Yinka Fisher of Iris Smart Technologies assured the Minister that all necessary resources and measures would be deployed to expedite the processing of the pending passport applications.
Adepoju revealed that despite the 200,000 enrollments nationwide, the agency had sufficient passport booklets to address the backlog.
The Minister underlined his commitment to being well-informed about passport enrollments, mentioning that he receives daily reports on his phone. He reiterated that Nigerians deserve efficient service and the right to own a passport if they can afford it.
Furthermore, the Minister pledged to clear the agency’s debts by November and emphasized the urgency of ending the delays in the passport acquisition process.
In a separate strategic meeting, the Minister directed the heads of the Federal Fire Service, the Nigeria Correctional Service, and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps to develop a practical and actionable roadmap within four weeks.
This roadmap should include specific timelines, approaches, deliverables, and methodologies.
The Minister’s decisive actions underscore the government’s dedication to addressing the long-standing challenges in passport processing and ensuring efficient service delivery to Nigerian citizens.
Simi blows hot as security man embarrasses her at passport office
Ikejabird had previously reported the ordeals of Nigeria singer Simi Kosoko, professionally known as Simi with officials at the passport office.
The singer said she was denied entry into the passport office because of her dressing, which the security man termed as ‘indecent dressing’
Simi, despite her celebrity status, revealed that she was told to return home and change her outfit before she could be permitted inside the office.
