Michael Olugbode in Abuja
The Acting Comptroller General of Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Caroline Adepoju, has said that not all types of passport issuance have a timeline of two weeks.
Adepoju, in a press statement signed by the spokesman of the service, Aridegbe Adedotun at the weekend, said the service “has received with deep concern, some complaints of misconduct levelled against our personnel in some Passport offices across the nation.”
The statement read: “The Comptroller General has ordered an investigation into the matter, especially in regards to the noncompliance with Ministerial directives on the timeline of Passport administration.
“Following the complete clearance of Passport application backlogs nationwide in line with the directive of the Honourable Minister of Interior, Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, a new timeline of two weeks for processing and issuance of Passport was announced by the minister on the 4th of October, 2023. The honourable minister and the Acting CGI provided different phone numbers to the general public to report misdemeanors by NIS personnel at any of our offices.
“The service has, on a daily basis, monitored the compliance level at all Passport offices nationwide and at our missions abroad. We receive daily reports on production and issuance of Passports from all Passport Control Officers. As at today, Friday, October 13, 2023, most of our passport offices are producing Passports of applicants enrolled on Wednesday, October 11, 2023.
“The service wishes to use this opportunity to enlighten the general public that applications for reissuance of lost Passport and change of data takes a longer time. Some applicants in this category may put the Service in bad light when they complain of delay and noncompliance with the new timeline. These applications are required to go through security clearance and correspondence with Service Headquarters before approval for production.”
