Is the Passport Collection Problem Over?

The problem of passport collection has always been with Nigeria as there are many bottlenecks in the system that has given the country a bad name. Past ministers and comptroller generals of immigration have had to battle with making the process seamless. The current Minister of Interior Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo and Acting Comptroller General of Immigration, Caroline Adepoju have confronted the challenge and cleared passport backlog. However, many are skeptical if the nation has finally buried the ghost of problem in passport processing and collection, Michael Olugbode reports

The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has always announced that Ņaverage passport processing times takes up to three weeks for renewals/reissue and up to six weeks for first time applicants,Ó but many Nigerians have never had the grace to get their passport done within the stipulated timeline. To get your passport out within the stipulated time, you may need to grease some palms of corrupt immigration officers or perhaps their touts who have ensured that getting a Nigerian passport is one of the most cherished accomplishments of all adult citizen of the country.

It has always been an experience full of sorrows and pains, many Nigerians have had to part with their hard earned money to get the new or renewed passport at record time. Many have lost opportunities of a lifetime for inability to catch up with foreign appointments as they waited endless to get passports issued, many that needed foreign medical attention have been sent to early grave as they kept waiting until death caught up with them.

According to the NIS, the approved fees for passports are: a 32-page five-year standard passport sells for N25,000 or $130 (for overseas applicants), a 64-page five-year standard passport for N35,000 or $150 (for overseas applicants), and a 64-page 10-year standard passport at N70,000 or $230 (for overseas applicants). These fees however exclude bank charges, but hardly do many Nigerians part with just this to have a passport. Even with many efforts made to shield Nigerians from the corrupt immigration officers and touts, they always find a way to get to their pockets by creating bottlenecks. The online application for passport has not stopped these corrupt officials from having their way.

The immigration officers have always manufactured excuses to get patronage from applicants, one of the excuses is there are no booklets. Though the federal government has always blamed applicants for bribing corrupt immigration officials and continue to turn a blind eye to the inefficiency and corruption-driven process in passport acquisition and administration in the country which has played to the advantage of corrupt officials. To check this, the erstwhile Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola embraced the online application system arguing that it would curb corruption, extortion and inflation, noting that: ŅAs long as applicants try to cut corners, they defeat our purpose and create avoidable problems,Ó adding that: ŅThe first problem that arises is unfulfilled expectations. Touts and officials are not in any position to guarantee anything.

ŅOur system makes room for six weeks for fresh applications and three weeks for renewal. This is to enable the NIS to investigate and verify claims by the applicants. It is advisable for travellers in need of a passport to begin the application process early, factoring our timeline. The six weeks maximum is reasonable and among the shortest application time in the world.Ó

But even with all these put in place, the corrupt officials still ensure that the system is still not allowed to perform optimally, and the new minister had to up the ante, giving a matching order for the backlog of passport to be cleared.

In perhaps his inaugural meeting with the NIS, Tunji-Ojo said: ŅAs far as I am concerned, the issue of passport is a national emergency. I keep getting emails daily from Nigerians complaining. We cannot continue like that.

ŅIt has become an embarrassment to His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. I represent him here as your minister. That embarrassment is mine now. I am not changing my words. I need the backlog cleared in two weeks.Ó

During the meeting, the Acting Comptroller General, Adepoju Carol, and Managing Director, Yinka Fisher, assured the Minister that all necessary resources and measures would be deployed to ensure the expedited processing of these pending passport applications.

Adepoju disclosed that though the number of enrolments has spilled into 200,000 across the country, the agency had been able to secure enough booklets to clear the backlog.

It wasnÕt the first time the federal government would declare a state of emergency on international passports, the Acting Comptroller General of NIS, Caroline Adepoju during a visit to Lagos last July said the declaration represents a call to action for all stakeholders to prioritize efficiency, transparency, and excellence in service delivery. She explained that the state of emergency was to address challenges faced by Nigerians in obtaining their passports, the Senate had earlier ordered its committee on Interior to find out the rationale behind the delay in the renewal and issuance of passports, following a series of complaints laid by Nigerians in renewing or getting new passports from the service.

The effort of all the stakeholders seem to have been achieved as the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) and other stakeholders achieved the clearance of 204,332  passports backlogs across the country within three weeks on October 1 after the deadline handed down by the minister on the 7th of September

On the deadline, the minister said it all started when Mr. President said: “look I didn’t appoint you to that ministry to give excuses, go and change the narratives, especially of passports applications and collections. Nigerians have had enough of that problem. “

He noted that in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu, the Ministry of Interior, the NIS, and other stakeholders aligned with “the talk and do” mantra of the present administration, 

stating that personnel of NIS had to do three shifts each day including Saturdays and Sundays to deliver. 

According to him, the Service providers of the NIS were also made to double up their printing capacities and capabilities, especially in areas where passports backlogs were higher. The minister said:” Yes. I gave two weeks deadline. I however have to apologise to Nigerians that we delivered on it in three weeks. We had 204,332 Nigerians whose data had been captured. And we cannot continue to watch them waiting endlessly. I visited the headquarters of the Immigration Service and told them the narratives must change. 

ŅSo in critical frontline desks like Ikeja, Alausa, Ikoyi, Ibadan, Abuja, we ordered that more printing machines be brought in by the Service providers. Then we increased the working hours of the personnel of NIS. They started running three shifts. 

ŅLet me at this juncture commend the Acting Comptroller General of the Immigration Service, Mrs Caroline Adepoju, especially for her positive responses to the pressures I mounted on her. I would call her late and demand updates, and she would provide updates. That was the spirit. “

He however revealed that so far out of the 204,332 backlogs cleared, only 94,981 have been collected by the applicants, leaving 109,351 yet uncollected. He regretted that for instance in Ikoyi Passports office, 39,170 backlogs were cleared, only about 9,458 applicants have showed up to collect the booklets. And while 21,108 were cleared in Alausa, a huge number of applicants are yet to show up to collect the documents. 

Now, with no more backlogs, is it yet time to say Uhuru, definitely not yet, but the minister and his team seems to understand what needed to be done to sustain the momentum, as he has promised to embark on some reforms with the NIS,  stating that by December this year, Nigerians can upload all supporting documents including their passports online to the Immigration Service. He noted that these measures would reduce human interfaces and corrupt practices, while bureaucratic bottlenecks that have been dismantled would not resurface anymore. 

He said applicants would only show up at Immigration offices for biometric capturing of data as it would reduce applications and collections of passports to two weeks. 

It is hoped that the minister and his team keep their eyes on the ball to stop the delay in issuance of passports and to keep the actions of corrupt officials at bay.