The Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, has reacted to The Guardian recent report titled ‘Despite express centres, corruption, racketeering hobble passport application process’, stating that there are no passport express centres in Nigeria, rather, there are passport front offices.
In the reaction sent by the Minister’s Technical Assistant, Ileowo Kikiowo, the Minister said his office is compelled to respond to the article because it erroneously referred to the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS)’s front offices as “express centres”, which is incorrect.
It pointed that the entire process of passport application is efficient, except for a few factors and that the passport processing system is currently online and appointment-based.
“Applicants can apply for a passport online and schedule an appointment to have their biometric data captured at all existing passport offices,” it said.
Part of the response reads: “The Maitama Passport Express Centre reference in the article was a pilot project that helped the NIS, Ministry of Interior, and the Federal Government understand how to better roll out the project with other partners across the country and around the world.
“The government quickly learned, in a few months of operation, that what was needed were more Biometric Data Capturing Centres, also known as Passport Front Offices, to reduce wait time and ease the crowd usually seen at passport offices waiting for their biometric data capture, and not the Passport Express Centres.
“Since then, the government has launched a few of these Passport Front Offices using its own resources.
“Passport front offices have been opened in Alimosho, Lagos State; Zaria, Kaduna State; Ilesa, Osun State; Daura, Katsina State, and the Oyo Passport front office in Oyo State will be opened this new week. However, this is still a drop in the ocean.
“Aside from the four existing passport offices in Lagos, the state alone needs at least 20 more to meet the growing demand for this travel document. The effort to partner with the private sector on the front offices is still ongoing.”
Explaining further, Aregbesola said: “One factor that can delay passport processing is disharmony between the NIN and personal data in the existing passport or information supplied in the application form. This requires correction at the NIMC office by the applicant.
“Another factor is engaging an agent or tout. These people have no role in passport processing anymore. Besides losing money, engaging them simply prolongs the process or frustrates it altogether.
“Another major factor faced by passport applicants is the lack of adequate Passport Biometric Data Capturing Centres.
“Outside of Abuja, Lagos, Katsina, Kaduna, Ogun, and Osun, other states in Nigeria have only one Passport Application Centre. Due to limited government resources, the need for prioritisation, recourse to alternative sources of funding, and partnership with the private sector have become essential for delivering value to citizens.”
The Minister noted that it is understandable some Nigerians still prefer the era when passports could be obtained on a wait-and-get basis, however, except in emergency cases, passports are not issued on demand anywhere in the world.
“The passport is a security and official document with a presidential note that confers certain privileges to the bearer.
“The presidential note written on the first page of the Nigerian passport reads, “These are to request and require in the name of the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria all those whom it may concern to allow the bearer to pass freely without let or hindrance and to afford him or her every assistance and protection of which he or she may stand in need.
“To ascertain the identity of the bearer and ensure that no unauthorized person or non-Nigerians carry our passport, background and identity checks are carried out, and addresses supplied during the application process are physically verified before passports are issued.
“All of these cannot be achieved in 24 hours. Even when a passport is issued in 24 hours on an emergency or humanitarian basis, such a passport is cancelled if inaccurate information is discovered to have been supplied during the application.
“In addition to these checks, the need to ensure an adequate supply of booklets vis-à-vis restock level, informed the three-week and six-week pick-up policy.
“Furthermore, the passport application process, which was previously disorganised, has now been standardised. Cash payment and physical applications at passport offices are no longer accepted instead, applicants must apply for passports online.
“If they do not have any issues with their NIN, their passport will be ready for pick-up in three weeks for reissue or six weeks for a fresh application.
“While some officials may still try to extort applicants, the Service leadership is cracking down on such behaviour. Applicants are advised to report any attempts to extort or frustrate them and to always follow due process. Applicants have no business approaching any officer or tout for passport processing.”
“Finally, elite arrogance is a major factor in passport delay. If the seamless online process is strictly adhered to, there will be no hiccups in the process.
“Though it should be noted that the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown and emerging migration trends caused a surge in demand for passports worldwide, which overwhelmed booklet suppliers’ capacity to meet the demands. Some countries, such as the UK, Canada, and the US, have millions of unprocessed applications pending, with processing times ranging from 13 to 20 weeks in some instances.
“However, Nigeria has cleared all Covid-19 induced backlogs and has produced an unprecedented 15 million passports in the eight years of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.
“Last year alone, over 1.5 million passports were produced, which is a first in Nigeria’s history. The highest the country has produced in a year never exceeded 700,000 which means the government is rising up to its task of providing passport to its citizens,” he concluded.
