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Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, on Tuesday paid an unannounced visit to the Nigerian Immigration Service passport office in Gwagwalada, Abuja, where he criticised delays in passport processing and warned applicants against making extra payments.
The minister inspected operations at the VIP and Children section of the passport office and engaged both officials and applicants, questioning why applicants were still waiting long after the office was expected to commence operations.
During the visit, Tunji-Ojo got feedback from applicants and cautioned them against paying money outside official fees, insisting that Nigerians had already paid fully for passport services.
“I don’t want to hear that you are collecting money for diesel or paper.
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“Nigerians have paid for their passports completely. Serve them diligently,” the Minister said.
He expressed displeasure that only a few applicants had been attended to hours after opening time, despite the section being designated for expedited services.
“So it means that by 9:30am, I expect to see at least one or two applicants here. Because I can see some people waiting downstairs, and our responsibility is to be efficient,” the minister said.
Tunji-Ojo questioned officials on the pace of enrolment and biometric capturing, calculating that each applicant should be processed within minutes.
“How long does it take to do an enrolment? Three minutes. So three times seven, that is twenty-one minutes,” he said.
Immigration officers admitted that although the office was scheduled to open by 8am, operations began later after the generator was switched on at about 9am.
“We are supposed to open by eight,” an official said, explaining that power was put on after applicants arrived.
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.
“It doesn’t make sense to me. People are there waiting.
“Some of these people still need to go to work. Some of these people have other things to do,” Tunji-Ojo added. “So why must you wait until you enrol everybody before you do capturing?,” the minister said.
He described the situation as unacceptable, stressing that delays defeated the purpose of service delivery.
“You are wasting people’s precious time. Time is money. Time is expensive. It is unacceptable,” he said.
Tunji-Ojo also faulted the under-utilisation of the VIP and Children section, noting that applicants waiting in other sections could have been redirected to ease congestion.
“It will not cost you anything if you use this place for them,” he said.
The minister reiterated that passport offices must prioritise efficiency and fairness.
“Nigeria has no VIP. When you wear this uniform, you wear a uniform of sacrifice. You are here to work for the people,” he said.
