In a significant announcement, Hon. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, the Minister of Interior, has unveiled plans to streamline the passport issuance process in Nigeria, pledging that as of December, passport applicants can expect a swift two-week turnaround time.
Furthermore, Minister Tunji-Ojo vowed to alleviate the cumbersome burden of waiting in long queues to submit requisite information for passport applications. He emphasized that the entire registration process will be shifted to an online platform, with in-person visits to passport offices limited to biometric data capture and passport collection.
The Ministry is diligently working to acquire the necessary equipment to realize this transformation by December.
This declaration was made during a press briefing, where the Minister highlighted the collaborative efforts of the Ministry of Interior, the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), and various stakeholders in successfully clearing a backlog of 204,332 passport applications across the nation in just three weeks.
The catalyst for this swift action, as Minister Tunji-Ojo revealed, was the unequivocal directive from President Bola Tinubu, who underscored the imperative of effecting substantial change in the realm of passport applications and collections, urging an end to the protracted issues faced by Nigerians.
In alignment with the Renewed Hope Agenda championed by President Tinubu, the Ministry of Interior, NIS, and associated stakeholders adopted a “talk and do” ethos in sync with the current administration’s vision.
Minister Tunji-Ojo lauded the dedicated efforts of the NIS personnel who worked tirelessly, even on weekends, to fulfill the stringent deadline he set on September 7th.
He further disclosed that NIS service providers escalated their printing capabilities, particularly in regions with higher passport application backlogs.
While acknowledging that the promised two-week deadline was ultimately met in three weeks, Minister Tunji-Ojo expressed his regret and offered an apology to Nigerians for the slight delay. He emphasized that out of the 204,332 backlogs that were cleared, only 94,981 passports have been collected by applicants, leaving 109,351 still awaiting collection.
Minister Tunji-Ojo urged Nigerians to appreciate the extraordinary efforts of those who made this clearance possible and emphasized the necessity for applicants to visit NIS offices promptly to retrieve their travel documents.
He shared specific statistics, such as the clearance of 39,170 backlogs in the Ikoyi Passports office, with only 9,458 applicants having collected their booklets, and the clearance of 21,108 backlogs in Alausa, where a substantial number of applicants are yet to claim their documents.
To sustain this momentum, the Ministry is poised to implement reforms in collaboration with the NIS. By December of this year, Nigerians will be able to upload all supporting documents, including their passports, to the Immigration Service online. These measures aim to minimize human interactions and curb corrupt practices, ensuring that the bureaucratic hurdles dismantled during this process do not reemerge.
Minister Tunji-Ojo assured that applicants will only need to visit Immigration offices for biometric data capture, ushering in a new era where passport applications and collections can be completed within a mere two weeks.
