Mr Olamide Oladiji, the Speaker, of the Ondo State House of Assembly, has called on the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) to ensure that Nigerian citizens get their international passports without undue delay.
Oladiji made the call on Friday when Mr Kayode Afolabi, Comptroller of NIS, Ondo State Command, paid him a visit in his office.
According to the speaker, the rate at which people complain about delays in getting international passports is worrisome.
“The NIS Command should take urgent steps to address any impediments that may be responsible for delays in passport issuance.
“It is the right of every Nigerian that desires to obtain a passport at any time without unnecessary impediment,’’ he said.
The speaker said that there should be a lasting solution to the issue of passport delay, especially “at this critical time that people wish to travel out for medical checkup or visitation.”
He expressed the readiness of the House to partner with the NIS in combating child trafficking and other needed areas.
“I can assure you that we are going to partner with you in our various constituencies and give you information regarding child trafficking,” he said.
Oladiji also said that there was a need to always carry members of the assembly along during recruitment exercises into the immigration service.
He said that such a step would enable them to carry their constituents along.
“It is from you that we can get the genuine recruitment advertisement, so that as representatives of our people we can let them know.
“We have a lot of graduates who don’t have jobs. So, we will partner with you for the development of our dear state,” he said.
The speaker, who later appreciated the command for the visit, urged NIS to continue to work for the overall development of the state and Nigeria at large.
Earlier, Afolabi, the State Comptroller of NIS, said the reason for the visit was to build a robust relationship with the state to achieve a common goal.
Afolabi, who decried the high rate of child trafficking in the country, called on the assembly and other relevant stakeholders to join hands with the Service in combatting the ugly trend.
“It is good for our children to travel abroad, but it must be legal.
“Traffickers use other means to convince our children and take them out of the country illegally, where they are being enslaved in different countries,” he said.
