Nigeria Immigration Service Commences Clearance of Backlog of Passport Applications
The Nigerian Immigration has commenced clearance of the backlog of passport applications in its passport offices Nationwide. To this end, passport applicants are advised to visit either the offices where they applied for the passports or check online to confirm the readiness of their passports.
A visit today by BusinessTrumpet News to the Alausa passport office in Ikeja, Lagos, revealed that many of the applicants are now collecting their passports. At the gate to the passport office in Alausa were the lists of the ready passports and the link to the online site were applicants could check for the readiness of their passports.
Earlier, on Tuesday June 1, the Service released a press statement to this effect which read “In furtherance to the Ministerial directives to clear up all backlog of Passport applications across Issuing Centres, the Comptroller General of Immigration Service (CGI), Muhammad Babandede MFR wishes to inform the public especially Passport applicants that the Service has made significant progress in the clearance exercise of backlog of Passport applications. So far a total number of 230,500 applications have been cleared and the Passports produced. Out of this, a total number of 43,350 are yet to be collected”.
“2. Passport Control Officers have been directed to continue to send out short message notifications for collection to all applicants who indicated functional contact details/numbers in their applications while efforts have been intensified to clear up the remaining applications in some Centres”.
“3. As part of efforts to ensure that applicants are duly notified and encouraged to go for collection of their Passports, the CGI has further directed that details of all Passports that are yet to be collected be uploaded on our website www.immigration.gov.ng for the attention of the public. The Service is also deploying other media means to notify the public about this development”.
“4. A huge number of applicants are already turning up to collect their Passports across Issuing Centres and this is causing some forms of congestion. This situation will not allow the Service to accommodate new applications especially considering our desire to ensure that people who come to our Offices comply with all the COVID-19 Protocols.”
“Consequent upon the above, the Minister of Interior Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola has extended the commencement of the new Passport regime earlier scheduled for 1st June 2021 by one week till the 8th of June, 2021. The period shall be used to attend to applicants for collection, clear all the remaining backlogs as well as improve systems automation for the takeoff of the new Passport regime effective 8th June, 2021”.
5. The Comptroller General of Immigration assures full commitment to improved service delivery to all Passport applicants and others.
Agwu, C. J
