It’s a no-brainer that many intentional Nigerian international travelers went through tough times in the year 2021 while trying to obtain passports from the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS).
While some were lucky enough to obtain the international travel document, others remain on the waiting list after going through all the required processes. A similar situation was found in Nigerian embassies abroad.
There came a point where the NIS, under the supervision of its former Comptroller General, Mohammed Babandede, stopped applications for new passports and renewal to allow the service to eliminate delays in passport applications.
In its attempt to ensure compliance with the directive, the service closed all payment portals from May 18 to June 1 and dispatched Task Force teams to all passport offices to enforce settlement of arrears. of passports.
Consequently, deputy comptrollers were deployed to all passport centers to monitor the process and ensure that the directive was followed.
However, despite the measures, difficulties persist in accessing passports.
Recently, a report by Nigerians in Diaspora Organization Europe, (NIDOE), Italy Chapter, indicated that more than 1.5 million Nigerians living in Europe needed passports.
Additionally, the Network of Nigerians in the Diaspora (NDN) staged a protest in Oberhausen, Germany, over a shortage of passports, according to widely publicized reports on social media.
The NIS blamed the shortage on the emergence of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) that emerged in 2020
The service explained that when the lockdown that resulted from COVID-19 was eased, what it witnessed was a geometric handover in passport applications.
He also attributed his inability most of the time to meet his six-week deadline for issuing new passports and three weeks for reissue to the challenges posed by the National Identity Management System (NIMC).
The NIS stated that it always received late responses from NIMC when inquiries were submitted.
Recently, a new NIS circular emerged in Lagos, prohibiting service management from speaking to journalists. Furthermore, in November 2021 a circular was published prohibiting journalists from conducting exclusive interviews with passport control officers (PCO).
Speaking to reporters before the circular was issued, the passport controller, Lagos Passport Command, Milka Musa, said that difficulties obtaining passports were caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which kept the world paralyzed during the closing.
COVID-19 alert
“When the lockdown was eased, what NIS witnessed was a geometric growth in passport applications,” he said, adding that the service was working hard to ensure a steady state was achieved.
One banker, who preferred to remain anonymous, attributed the difficulty of obtaining passports to corrupt elements both on and off the service.
According to the banker, such corrupt elements intentionally create an artificial shortage of passports to increase the cost.
For example, the official price for a 64-page Nigerian passport with a validity period of 10 years is N70,000, while the official price for a five-year validity is N35,000.
Applicants for the new 32-page passport with a validity period of five years must pay N25,000.
However, some applicants part with 40,000 N to obtain the 32-page passport valid for five years instead of 25,000 N, while some obtain the 64-page passport valid for 10 years for 250,000 N.
The federal government, through the NIS, has warned Nigerians to stop patronizing resellers and to curb the trend upon request.
According to the government, Nigerian passport payments have been digitized, meaning that applicants can apply for and pay for international passports online.
Interior Minister Rauf Aregbesola made this known during the launch of the enhanced electronic passport with polycarbonate data page and other security features in Ibadan recently.
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On ways to address the challenges to prevent bottlenecks in 2022, Amuwo Odofin’s local government chairman Valentine Buraimoh urged the federal government to reduce procedures in applying for passports.
“For example, the official time to obtain a new passport should be reduced from 6 weeks to 7 days. “The renewal time should be shortened to three days,” Buraimoh said.
The head of the council said it was necessary for NIS and the Nigerian Identity Management Commission (NIMC) to have a smooth relationship.
“NIS always blames NIMC for not confirming applicants’ NIN number sent to NIMC for confirmation on time. NIMC also said that NIS refused to use the correct NIMC channel to look up the necessary information … what is that? ” Buraimoh said.
Former Chairman of the Insurance Industry Advisory Council, Mufutau Oyegunle, said it was time for the NIS to start naming and shaming corrupt officials after three consecutive warnings.
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“Drastic measures are needed to stop corrupt officials within the service,” he said.
A migration expert, Alo Francis, advised the federal government to allow the NIS a window to use some of the money raised to produce brochures.
According to Alo, this will cushion the shortage of passport booklets in Nigeria.
But NIS Acting Comptroller General (CG) Idris Jere stated in a virtual press conference on New Years Day that the service received 45,000 brochures on December 31 last year.
According to Mr. Jere, the brochure will help clear the backlog of international passport applications inside and outside the country.
The acting CGI tasked Nigerians to make use of the six-month window to renew their passports before their expiration, in order to help applicants and the NIS in terms of logistics to prepare passports before those documents expire. vital.
(NAN Features)