Interior Minister, Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, yesterday explained how the ministry, the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) and other stakeholders cleared 204,332 passport backlog across the country within three weeks.
The minister, who praised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the feat, said it all started when Mr. President said: “Look, I didn’t appoint you to that ministry to give excuses. Go and change the narratives, especially of passport applications and collection. Nigerians have had enough of that problem.”
He expressed delight that in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Tinubu, the Ministry of Interior, the NIS, and other stakeholders aligned with “the talk and do” mantra of the present administration.
Tunji-Ojo gave the explanation while addressing reporters yesterday in Abuja on how the NIS handled the September 7 deadline he gave passport offices across the country to issue the travel document to Nigerians who had applied for it.
The minister explained that NIS personnel had to do three shifts each day, including Saturdays and Sundays, to meet the deadline.
According to him, the service providers of the NIS were also made to double up their printing capacities and capabilities, especially in areas where passport backlog was higher.
Tunji-Ojo said: “Yes. I gave a two-week deadline. I, however, have to apologise to Nigerians that we delivered on it in three weeks. We had 204,332 Nigerians whose data had been captured, and we cannot continue to watch them waiting endlessly. I visited the headquarters of the Immigration Service and told them the narrative must change.
“So, in critical frontline desks, like Ikeja, Alausa, Ikoyi, Ibadan, Abuja, we ordered that more printing machines be brought in by the service providers. Then, we increased the working hours of the personnel of the NIS. They started running three shifts.
“Let me at this juncture commend the Acting Comptroller General of the Immigration Service, Mrs. Wura-Ola Adepoju, especially for her positive responses to the pressure I mounted on her. I would call her late and demand updates, and she would provide updates. That’s the spirit.”
He regretted that, for instance, at the Ikoyi Passports office, a backlog of 39,170 passports was cleared, but only 9,458 have shown up to collect the booklets; 21,108 were cleared in Alausa; a large number of applicants are yet to show up to collect the documents.
The minister noted that to sustain the momentum, the ministry would embark on some reforms with the NIS.
According to him, by December, Nigerians can upload online all supporting documents, including their passports, to the Immigration Service.
Tunji-Ojo said the measures would reduce human interfaces and corrupt practices, while bureaucratic bottlenecks that have been dismantled would not resurface anymore.
The minister said applicants would only show up at Immigration offices for biometric capturing of their data to reduce the period of application for and collection of passports to two weeks.
He said: “The Federal Government will not increase passport fee, despite the foreign exchange situation in the country. What we are committed to do is to make the experience of passport applications and collections sweet for Nigerians anywhere in the world.
“Another reform we are undertaking is to open Passports Front Desks, home and abroad, for seamless application and collection. I am from Akoko in Ondo State. With a Passports Front Desk, it means I don’t have to race to the state capital in Akure before I get a passport.
“And for Nigerians in diaspora, we are doing the same thing. You will not need to leave Canada or New York before you renew your passports.
“So, we are working out the number of front desks that will be opened by February. Nigerians will see the difference as we activate passport front desks across the world.”
Providing more information on how the backlog was cleared, the minister said the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), now domiciled in the Ministry of Interior, was carried along.
He praised the management of NIMC for the support, expressing confidence that more collaboration would be engendered forthwith.
Tunji-Ojo said in the first five days of the deadline he issued, over 55,000 pasports were cleared; by 10 days, over 97,000 passports were cleared.
The minister said he dedicated a line to the assignment to ensure strict compliance.
According to him, reports indicated that Kaduna, Rivers, Kano, Katsina states, and towns, like Ilesha, Abuja and Gwagwalada, have recorded zero backlog.
The Nation gathered that as at September 28, 2023, out of a total backlog of 204,332 passports waiting for clearance, 195,795 had been cleared, leaving a balance of 8,537.
