NIS clears all 200k passport backlogs, as directed by Tunji-Ojo
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
All 200,000 passport backlogs have been cleared and the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) is waiting for applicants to come up and collect them, the agency has announced.
NIS Deputy Comptroller of Immigration and the Immigration spokesman, Dotun Aridegbe, who made the announcement and declared “the days of passport backlogs are now over.”
Interior Minister Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo had about three weeks ago directed the NIS) to process the pending 200,000 passport applications within two weeks.
The directive was given at a meeting he had NIS acting Comptroller General Carol Wura-Ola after she assumed office in Abuja.
The meeting was also attended by Yinka Fisher, the Managing Director of Iris Smart Technologies, the firm in charge of producing Nigerian passport booklets.
Tunji-Ojo said the directive is in line with his commitment to eliminating all obstacles to obtaining passports and other immigration documents.
After the directive, Wura-Ola activated a full-scale implementation team which has now achieved the remarkable success.
“Please help us tell applicants whose passports are lying in various passport offices across the country to go and collect their passports. We are working around the clock to ensure the satisfaction of our applicants,” Aridegbe said, per Nairametrics.
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Tunji-Ojo flaunts NIS clearing 60,000 from 200,000 passport backlogs
Tunji-Ojo had last month basked in jubilation after the NIS cleared 60,000 passport backlogs in his new push for accelerated service delivery.
He enthused more would soon be processed from the total 200,000 pile up and the NIS would eliminate all bottlenecks to ensure new passports are processed within the regulatory two weeks.
Tunji-Ojo disclosed this in Abuja when he received in his office Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation Minister Betta Edu.
“As at this morning, I can tell you that about 60,000 passport backlogs have been cleared, specially 59,906. On Wednesday, September 6, 2023, when I gave the 2-week ultimatum, we had over 200,000 backlogs. We have recorded progress, and I maintain my words, those backlogs must be cleared,” he said.
“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has directed us to see the place of partnership as agents of his #RenewedHope Agenda, and we are here to deliver on this mandate.”
Tackling human trafficking
“We assure you of our support. Your initiative is progressive and commendable, especially at this crucial time in the history of our country.
“There is a lot of work to be done, and we cannot work in silos as the President has directed,” Tunji-Ojo stressed.
“Thank you Dr Betta Edu. We are not just working on humanitarian endeavours as human trafficking, our NIS must help us change the story, completely.
“When we came on board, the passport crisis was an embarrassment. And, we said: it cannot continue.”
Tunji-Ojo urged Edu to join the partnership to fight against human trafficking and other related challenges, including poor veterans’ welfare, underemployment, and poverty among citizens.
Edu explained the visit was prompted by the need for a strong partnership to drive Tinubu’s target on poverty alleviation.
She reiterated the Interior Ministry is in the best position to tackle human trafficking as it supervises the NIS.