Rauf Aregbesola, Nigeria’s Minister of Interior, has accused corrupt officials of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) of undermining the efforts to sanitize the passport application process.
Aregbesola made the remarks while inaugurating the NIS passport front office in Oyo state. He urged Nigerians to stop patronizing the corrupt officials and report any NIS official extorting applicants for money.
Aregbesola dismissed the excuse of passport shortage as a lie circulated by the few corrupt officials of the service to extort applicants.
“We did not have a shortage of booklets at any given time; we have enough booklets to meet the needs of the people,” he said.
The Senate has directed its Committee on the Interior to investigate the complaints of delays in renewing and issuing international passports nationwide.
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This follows complaints by Nigerians that they could not renew or obtain fresh passports from the NIS.
Aregbesola assured Nigerians that the NIS has improved its services, and only a few countries could boast of the type of passport Nigeria has, which he said “is one of the best in the world.”
However, the challenges currently facing the immigration service include the dearth of offices to enroll applicants for data capturing.
Aregbesola said the challenges are gradually being tackled, especially with constructing more passport front offices.
Mohammed Umar, the NIS comptroller in Oyo, commended the minister for bringing the center closer to the people and appreciated the town’s people for their contributions in ensuring the realization of the project.
The inauguration of the new office in Oyo town would reduce the congestion in the Ibadan center, Umar said. He added that about 5,000 applicants waiting for data capturing in the Ibadan center would be moved to the new center in Oyo to reduce the challenge of waiting.
Aregbesola noted that getting an international passport is the right of all Nigerians in and outside the country and assured that the service would not relent on its mandate of providing passports to all Nigerians.
