The Federal Government on Saturday launched an additional Passport Front Office in Auchi, Edo, as part of its effort towards effective service delivery to Nigerians.
This was as the passport office promised to launch a home delivery service for passports.
The Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, who spoke at the opening of the Nigeria Immigration Service Passport Front Desk Office in Auchi said that it was the intention of the Federal Government to provide the passport for anyone desirous of it within reasonable time, at affordable price and without any stress.
According to him, the launch of another Passport Front Desk Office was significant as the Nigerian Passport remained a proof of existence, especially for those outside the country, stressing that the Inability to produce it on demand might bring untoward consequences.
“What we are doing here is significant for two main reasons. The first is the right (and even the necessity) of Nigerians, especially those in the diaspora to hold the Nigerian passport. Except for those travelling outside the country or intending to, most of those who hold passports do so for identification purposes.
“For some, it is also a thing of pride to be able to brandish the greenback of the passport. But for those outside the country, the passport is the proof of their existence. Inability to produce it on demand may bring untoward consequences.
“The government therefore wants to provide the passport for anyone desirous of it within reasonable time, at affordable price and without any stress whatsoever.
The second is the need, flowing from the first, to break out of the regular”, he maintained.
The minister promised to conclude negotiations with NIPOST on the usage of its speedy mail service to start delivering passports to Nigerians who opted for such service.
“We are in the final stage of concluding negotiations with NIPOST to begin using its speed mail service to deliver passports to Nigerians wherever they are in the world after production,” the Minister remarked.
Aregbesola, while stating that Edo State had one of the highest passport applications in Nigeria, revealed that the waiting period between application and collection would likely increase due to the recent increase in demand.
In his words; “Our current working schedule is that fresh application would take six weeks after biometric data registration and three weeks for renewal. This is reasonable, competitive and in line the global best practices.
“The challenge however is the waiting period at the point of application and data registration.
“All applicants will be put on a queue, depending on the centre of their choice, to determine the registration date. Regrettably, it might take two months in some highly competitive centres where application is very high. We have no control over this”, the minister regretted.
He, however, said that the Federal Government was intentional about opening more front desk offices, in order to increase the registration centres and reduce the waiting period before biometric data capture.
“It is our projection that by the time we open more front offices like this, the waiting period will not be more than three days. Indeed, the more front offices we have, the less the waiting period. Our long term plan will be to involve private operators who will provide the lounge for a fee, but the equipment and personnel will be provided by the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS)”, he added.
Commending the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) for improving on their services, which includes issuance of top quality passport booklet, Aregbesola affirmed that Nigeria was among the first five countries in the world and the first in Africa to have the enhanced e-passport.
“The reform introduced to the NIS led to the Automated Passport issuance process which has eliminated touts and racketeers in Passport administration, introduction of E-border Management, MIDAS and the commencement of E-Passport across Passport Control Offices and Diplomatic Missions”, he noted.
The minister, therefore, advised applicants not to go through third parties but apply on any internet-enabled device through the Nigeria Immigration Service portal.
Aregbesola lamented the prevalence of a few unscrupulous officials subverting the system, cornering applications, inflating prices, extorting applicants and hiding already-produced passports.
“I will therefore plead with applicants not to go through them and other touts hanging around passport offices, soliciting from applicants.
“The application can be done in your bedroom on your android phone through the Nigeria Immigration Service portal. You do not need a third party. Those who patronise them are the ones encouraging their nefarious activities and frustrating our efforts at transparency and providing seamless service.”
He also urged applicants to plan ahead for their travelling, as travelling requires long-term planning, whether for education, work, leisure, or migration, except for urgent national assignments or medical emergencies.
Speaking earlier, the Comptroller General of the Nigerian Immigration Service, Isah Jere Idris, said that the choice of Auchi was apt, as Edo State ranked fifth amongst states with the highest volume of passport applications locally.
According to him, “In the past 365 days, Edo has processed 56,291 applications out of the 1.5 million passports produced in Nigeria. The commissioning of this front office will no doubt go a long way in reducing the traffic in Edo State and other neighbouring States”.
The NIS CG restated the necessity for prospective applicants to synchronize the data in their passport application with the information in
their National Identification Number.
“May I quickly add that for the enhanced e-passport, it is essential to ensure that prospective passport applicants synchronize the data in their passport application with the information in their NIN (National Identification Number).”
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