Applicants for the new Nigerian international passport can now get their documents within 24 hours and avoid the harrowing experience of the past associated with the old process.
Ogbeni Rauf Aregbosola, the Minister of Interior, stated this in Abuja on Tuesday during the commissioning of the Nigeria Immigration Service Passport Express Centre in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
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According to Aregbesola, the country’s international passport could be obtained from the centre within 24 hours at the high premium service and 72 hours at the ordinary premium service, albeit with added value and at an extra cost.
The minister also said that the government planned to have such a facility in every part of the country, saying it would further promote efficiency.
He emphasised that the new centre would reduce stress for applicants, minimise human contact and eliminate the prospect of corruption in the system.
Besides, he stated the establishment of the office was in compliance with the international best practice and in conformity with Executive Order 1 on the ease-of-doing-business in Nigeria, which was signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari in 2017.
He added: “Further to the above, the sudden emergence of COVID-19 in our world today has not only affected our health, but it has also affected the way we do business and interact socially. Therefore, as we continue to adjust to the new normal, the Nigeria Immigration Service, by this initiative, is decentralising the passport issuing process by bringing it to the doorstep of Nigerians.
“In essence, the Passport Express Centre has indeed come at the right time. The commencement of the operations of this world-class facility will not only offer Nigerians services of convenience and pleasure by taking away the hitherto stress in the conventional passport offices. It will also afford Nigerians the opportunity of getting their passports within 24 hours.”
The minister said the centre was in response to the yearnings of the general public for his ministry and the Nigeria Immigration Service to devise additional ways that the passport issuance process could be less stressful and more efficient.
He lauded Buhari for his support for the ministry and service and also commended the leadership of immigration and its technical partners for executing this initiative.
He implored the service to join its counterparts in the embrace of technology without compromising the security architecture of the country, stressing that the world was going through a technological revolution.
“Nigeria cannot afford to be left behind. It is in this regard that I urge you to continue to explore and develop innovative and technologically driven ideas aimed at repositioning the NIS to compete favourably with its counterparts all over the world without prejudice to national security,” he said.
