The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has cleared a total of 195,795 Passports application backlogs out of 204,332 Passports following the deadline given to the NIS on September 7 by the Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo.
Piqued by delays in issuance of passports and the harrowing experiences of Nigerians home and abroad, the Minister addressed a meeting of stakeholders attended by top officials of the Ministry, the management of NIS led by its Acting Comptroller General, Mrs Wura-Ola Adepoju and Dr Yinka Fisher, the Managing Director of Iris Smart Technologies.
The Minister said President Bola Tinubu was not happy about the unpalatable experiences of Nigerians regarding Passports issuance, and has ordered a change forthwith. He therefore gave the NIS two weeks to clear the backlogs across the country.
It was learnt that as at Thursday last week, the total outstanding of backlogs of Passports stood at 8,537.
Findings from our Correspondent revealed that in the first five days of the Minister’s deadline over 55,000 Passport backlogs were cleared across the country.
It was gathered that besides the normal working days of the week, the frontline Desks of the NIS were made to work on Saturdays and Sundays to ensure compliance with the directive of the Minister.
Our Correspondent also recalled that within three weeks, 97, 000 Passports backlogs were cleared as the Minister insisted on being briefed everyday by the authorities of the NIS.
Reports from across the country showed that some Desks have cleared all Passports backlogs. Kaduna, Portharcourt, Kano, Katsina, Ilesha, Abuja and Gwagwalada among others recorded zero backlogs.
As at Thursday 28th September, 2023, out of a total backlog of 204,332 Passports waiting for clearance, 195,795 have been cleared, leaving an outstanding balance of 8,537.
It was learnt that the frontline Desks with backlogs are still being challenged by the Minister to deliver within the shortest periods. The breakdown so far showed that Ikoyi Passport Desk produced 2,172 Passports booklets and has a backlog of 5,423 to clear.
Festac in Lagos, one of the busiest in the country like Ikoyi produced 1,151 and has 1,119 backlog to clear. Ibadan produced 1,333 with 111 backlog to clear, Ilorin has 1,017 Passports backlog to clear while Sagamu has 867 backlog to clear.
Our Correspondent gathered that Ilorin, Abeokuta, Sagamu are co-producing the booklets with Ibadan.
The Minister, it was discovered, has established a mechanism for surveillance and monitoring of developments in all Passports offices across the country to ensure the sustainability of the momentum and prevent any relapse to the old order.
