Passport reforms being crippled despite efforts by Tunji-Ojo
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Efforts by Interior Minister Bunmi Tunji-Ojo to clear passport backlogs and hasten issuance of new ones are being hobbled by a plethora of challenges, including booklet scarcity, cash crunch as well as bureaucracy which profits corrupt officials.
It is reported that service providers are owed billions billion and printed passport booklets are stuck in warehouses over debts.
Bureaucratic bottlenecks over the share of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) in revenue from passport issuance are another major obstacle that threatens to derail reforms initiated by the government to quicken the issuance of e-passports.
Immigration sources disclosed passport booklets have been exhausted, coupled with bureaucratic challenges, especially with the Treasury Single Account (TSA).
The TSA is reportedly inactive as officials are yet to address all stakeholder concerns about funds distribution challenges.
TSA is the public accounting system using a single account or a set of linked accounts to ensure all government revenue receipts and payments are done through a Consolidated Revenue Account (CRA) at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The hiccup makes it difficult for the NIS to access funds to offset debts running into billions of naira owed service providers.
Tunji-Ojo has initiated reforms that led to the clearance of more than 200,000 passport backlogs.
However, the current situation may trigger another accumulation if not urgently addressed.
Applicants at the Abuja headquarters of the NIS are having a tough time obtaining the document, likewise in the Lagos passport offices in Alausa, Alimosho, and Ikoyi.
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NIS says not to blame for looming passport booklet scarcity
Senior NIS officials stressed Immigration should not be blamed for the looming passport booklet scarcity, according to reporting by Vanguard.
“Let me give you an example,” one said. “The cost of the 32-page passport booklet outside Nigeria is $132, while the cost of the 64-page category is $230.
“If an application is made outside Nigeria, the payment goes straight into the Federation Account which is shared among the three tiers of government.
“The NIS has no control over the money that comes in from abroad. The revenues from abroad form 50 per cent of the entire proceeds for passport issuance.
“For the ones paid for in Nigeria, we not only have to apply for funds before we are considered, but all services related to the printing of fresh passports and payment of other service providers in the value chain are from that 50 per cent.
“So, our application goes through many agencies of government while we keep our service providers waiting until we fulfil all righteousness before we can pay them.”
No fewer than 105,000 e-passport booklets were printed in the past year, comprising 35,000 copies of the 32-page category and 70,000 copies of the 64-page.
“At present, the 32-page category has been exhausted due to its high demand,” another NIS official disclosed. “This means that there is already a scarcity of passports.”
He said there are 48 passport-issuing outlets outside Nigeria and 44 in the country.
He explained there are booklets to be delivered to the NIS by printers but they are stuck at the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and courier warehouses because of huge debts.
It was learnt that the NCS and DHL are among the service providers insisting on payment of their debts before the documents are released.
