The minister of interior, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola on has directed the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) to issue international passports to genuine and qualified applicants within 48 hours.
The minister who issued the order at the flag off of a retreat for NIS senior officials in Lagos said yesterday said the 48-hour timeline is feasible with the deployment of state-of-the-art technology.
To achieve it, Aregbesola urged those charged with the responsibility to eliminate human contact and deal with racketeering.
He said the pains which many Nigerians are subjected to in the bid to procure the important travel document must be stopped.
“From information available to me, it is possible with the right technology in place for the Nigeria Immigration Service to issue international passports to applicants who have paid the official fees after 48 hours.
“If there is any delay, the officials should communicate to the affected applicants. One of the ways to achieve this is to deploy the right technology and eliminate human contact in the passport issuance process.
“This way, we eliminate sharp practices and racketeering built around the process. This is the way to go and all officials should shun all forms of corruption in the discharge of their duties,” he said.
In his remarks, the comptroller general of NIS, Mr. Muhammad Babandede decried fraudulent practices that characterise the process of acquiring passports.
“I must admit to the minister that many eligible passport applicants are currently not having any appreciable satisfaction in interfacing with our passport window while applying.
“The process of acquiring our passports still remains not only very confusing and frustrating but also very fraudulent,” he said.
