The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, during an unscheduled visit on Tuesday to the Nigerian Immigration Service Passport Office, Gwagwalada, Abuja, scolded the Office for delays in passport processing. The Minister warned applicants against making extra payments to secure passports.
The minister inspected operations at the VIP and Children section of the Passport Office, interacted with the officials, as well as applicants. He questioned why applicants were still waiting long after the office was expected to commence operations.
Tunji-Ojo receiving feedback from applicants, cautioned them against paying money outside official fees, insisting that Nigerians had already paid fully for passport services.
He expressed displeasure that only a few applicants had been attended to hours after opening time, despite the section being designated for expedited services.
Tunji-Ojo questioned officials on the pace of enrolment and biometric capturing, calculating that each applicant should be processed within minutes.
Immigration officers admitted that although the office was scheduled to open at 8.00am, operations began later after the generator was switched on at about 9.00am.
The minister criticised the practice of completing enrolment for all applicants before commencing biometric capturing, insisting that both processes should be carried out simultaneously to reduce waiting time.
He described the situation as unacceptable, stressing that delays defeated the purpose of service delivery.
