The Federal Government has said no fewer than 1.9 million passports have been issued to Nigerians between January 2021 and June 2022.
The Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, disclosed this during the commissioning of the Enhanced Passport Production Centre in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital on Tuesday.
He said the new Passport Production Centre will serve applicants from Rivers, Cross River, Akwa Ibom and Bayelsa States.
According to him, the Nigerian Immigration Service issued 1.3 million passports to Nigerians in the previous year, adding that as of today, there is no booklet shortage in Nigeria.
He added that the Nigerian passport has evolved over the years from the manual plain paper format to the biometric passport introduced in 2007 which contains a machine-readable biodata of the holder.
“What we are presenting today is the enhanced version with additional security. The enhanced ePassport comes in various categories, including the 64-page-10-year validity Passport which is quite convenient for frequent travellers. It is a product of the latest technology in passport administration and issuance. Only very few countries in the world can boast of it as of today.
“The document is of higher grade with additional 25 security features than the one currently in use. It is polycarbonate in design and therefore water-resistant. It cannot be compromised by counterfeiters and identity thieves.
“We have left no stone unturned in our quest to make passports available to Nigerians. Last year alone, we provided 1.3 million passports to Nigerians. As at the second quarter of this year (in June), the NIS have provided 645,000 passports out of the 750,000 applications received.
“In the past, we have had some unanticipated challenges in passport issuance. This was during the Covid-19 era in 2020 when the whole world practically grounded to a halt and production of booklets was hampered. This extended to the period immediately after, when there was an unprecedented surge in demand.
“But this is clearly behind us now. To address the challenge of the backlog, we have sent 11,000 booklets to Ikoyi, 11,000 to Alausa and 8,000 to FESTAC centres in Lagos. We have also sent sufficient booklets to all the centres nationwide to address this challenge. There is therefore no excuse again for delay and non-issuance within a reasonable period.
“I will urge applicants for the Nigerian passport to apply early enough before their travel date to avoid cutting corners and falling into the hands of scammers and other opportunists. It is important also that they apply by themselves at the Nigeria Immigration Service portal and not through touts and unscrupulous officials, which often bring heartaches.
“We have provided a window of six weeks and three weeks for fresh application and renewal respectively, after biometric data capture, by which, other things being equal, the passport will be ready for collection. This timeline is to enable NIS to investigate and validate the claims of applicants and confer integrity on the passport issued. It is a reasonable provision in passport administration by the global standards. There is no wait-and-get passport service anywhere in the world. The only wait-and-get passport is a passport-sized photograph from a Polaroid camera,” he stated.
The former Osun State Governor said that in some advanced countries, it takes months to procure their passports, adding that the ministry introduced a tracking mechanism in the application process to enable applicants to monitor the progress of their application.
He said, “We are also introducing data capture centres all over the country before the end of this year, to eliminate physical contact with NIS officials. We shall continue to introduce necessary and available innovations to passport administration in order to best serve applicants in our quest for establishing citizenship integrity.
“But our biggest challenge in passport administration is human. We have introduced far-reaching reforms which some unscrupulous elements continue to frustrate and subvert with corrupt acts. The menace of touting, inflation of price, delay in processing applications and withholding of passports are some of the challenges that emerged from the economy of corruption these officials have built around passport administration.
“But there must be zero tolerance for these practices if we want to build a great nation and lead peaceful and prosperous lives. The Ministry of Interior is therefore bringing all the might of the Federal Government of Nigeria – overt and covert – to fight these odious practices.
“I will therefore once again implore applicants to apply directly through the NIS portal and avoid touts and NIS officials, not offer bribes to anyone or pay more than the stipulated fees. Those patronising touts and corrupt officials are sabotaging our efforts and making sanitisation difficult.
“If you have done the right thing and you encounter difficulties with our officials over unlawful demands or deliberate frustration of your application, please make a representation to my office with the relevant details. We shall surely address your case.
“One of the challenges applicants face with the enhanced e-passport is the validation of their details with NIN. Those with discrepancies, like the way their name is arranged in their details, cannot proceed until this is corrected and sorted out.
“Let me once again sound a note of warning to the few officials involved in corrupt acts and undermining reforms in passport administration that the game is up. Except you repent and desist from these untoward acts, we shall find you and flush you out of the system. A word, they say, is enough for the wise. Be guided accordingly.
“The Passport Production Centre we are commissioning today is designed to serve applications from the good people of Rivers, Bayelsa, Akwa Ibom and Cross Rivers States.
“I must thank and appreciate President Muhammadu Buhari for his continued favourable disposition towards our Ministry and its agencies, including NIS, which has enabled us to open this centre amidst other assistance we have received from him.
“I must commend the Acting Controller General of the NIS for his hard work, diligence, patriotism, innovation and diligent pursuit of the reforms in NIS. I also through him thank all the officers and men of the NIS for their sacrifice, patriotism and unalloyed service to the nation, keeping our borders safe, in trying and challenging circumstances.
“I will like to thank my dear brother, the Governor of Rivers State, His Excellency, Nyesom Wike, for the warm accommodation and the kind assistance he continues to give our agencies in this state.
“I thank also all the traditional rulers, chiefs, community leaders and others for their cooperation with the NIS and other agencies of the Ministry of Interior in Rivers State”
In his opening remarks, Acting Comptroller General of the Nigerian Immigration Service, Idris Isah Jere, said all officers must be professional in discharging their duties, noting that the service will no longer condone any act of indiscipline by officers.
