CLEAR PASSPORT BACKLOG IN NEXT TWO WEEKS, MINISTER TELLS IMMIGRATION

September 8, 2023September 8, 2023

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The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, has instructed the contractors working with the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) to ensure that passport application backlogs are cleared “within the next two weeks”.

Tunji-Ojo, in a Thursday post on X, formerly Twitter, stated that the directive was one of several “swift measures” aimed at eliminating barriers which applicants encounter.

“As part of swift measures to remove all bottlenecks in the acquisition of passport and immigration documents, I engaged service providers to the immigration service to ensure the backlogs of applications are cleared within the next two weeks,” he said.

‘Speed Up Process’
Last week, the interior minister charged agency heads to speed up the process of application and collection of Nigerian passports.

“Nigerians should not have to queue endlessly to get passports. No, this must stop,” Tunji-Ojo was quoted as saying in a statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the Minister of Interior, Alao Babatunde.

The minister also noted that President Bola Tinubu had no interest in excuses, saying the agency heads must walk the talk as the country is at a critical point and in dire need of transformation.