During an unexpected visit to the Nigerian Immigration Service headquarters in Gwagwalada, Abuja, on Tuesday, Minister of Interior Tunji-Ojo denounced the hold-up in passport processing and issued a warning against illegal charges. He emphasised that incompetence in service delivery will no longer be accepted and that Nigerians are not allowed to pay more than the rates that have been officially authorised. The minister spoke with immigration staff and passport applicants while touring the VIP and Children division of the passport office, asking why so few people.
Even though the area was set aside for accelerated services, Tunji-Ojo voiced worry that many applicants were sitting downstairs unattended and that they were still waiting long after business hours. So, it means that by 9.30am, I expect to see at least one or two applicants here because I can see some people waiting downstairs, and our responsibility is to be efficient,” the minister said.
The minister also used the opportunity to caution passport applicants against paying any money outside officially approved fees.
“I don’t want to hear that you are collecting money for diesel or paper. Nigerians have paid for their passports completely. Serve them diligently,” he warned immigration officials.
Immigration officers at the office acknowledged that although operations were supposed to start by 8am, activities only started around 9am after the generator was turned on, citing power supply issues. Tunji-Ojo questioned the speed of enrolment and biometric capture, calculating that each applicant should be processed within a few minutes if systems were properly managed.