The Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola has said the federal government might consider a Public-Private partnership to set up more passport offices to curb congestion in other centres.
Aregbesola revealed this while commissioning a new passport office in Alimosho area of Lagos, to ease the application, processing, and collection of Nigerian international passports.
Aregbesola, in his addressing note, said due to funding, the federal government might consider a Public-Private partnership to set up more passport offices to curb congestion in other centres.
Aregbesola added that the office would address the shortage and help decongest the Ikoyi, Festac and Alausa passport centres, which should be expected. “We certainly need more of this in Lagos,” he said.
Jere Idris, controller-general of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), described the passport front office as a “legacy project” that will bring efficient services to Lagos and its environs.
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“The passport office remains a no-go-area for touts, passport racketeers, fake breeder documents harvesters, and all sorts of undesirable elements.
“I wish to warn that the long arm of the law and its full force will be visited on any person who by an act of commission or omission infringes on the passport offences as stipulated in section 10(1a-h) of the Immigration Act, 2015.”
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Anthony Akuneme, the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Public Relations Officer, while inaugurating the new office noted that Aregbesola said at least 14 passport front offices would be created in Lagos because the state accounts for 50 percent of all applications across the country.
The event also featured the inauguration of the newly-constructed Lagos command headquarters of the NIS at the Alagbon close, Ikoyi.
