Lagos accounts for 50 percent of passport applications in Nigeria – Aregbesola

The Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola has said that Lagos accounts for 50 percent of all applications for the Nigerian passports in the country, as the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) continuously implements passport administration reforms aimed at making the application, processing and collection of the Nigerian international passport more accessible and seamless for the travelling public.

He made the disclosure during a recent inauguration of the Alimosho Passport Front Office established by the Service to decongest traffic at the Ikoyi, Festac and Alausa Passport Offices and to bring services closer to residents in the local government area and its environs.

Aregbesola in a statement signed by Anthony Akuneme, the public relations officer, Deputy Comptroller of Immigration (DCI) of the NIS, stated that the Alimosho Passport Front Office at Sobo Bus Stop, Akowonjo, would ensure travelling public in and around Alimosho do not travel long distance before they could apply and obtain the Nigerian international passport.

According to the statement, additional 14 passport front offices would be established in the state because Lagos accounts for 50 per cent of all applications for Nigerian passports.

“We certainly need more of this in Lagos. This is because half of all passport applications are made in Lagos.

“At no time are less than 100,000 applicants from Lagos on the NIS portal applying for passports. We will therefore need not less than 15 of these front offices in Lagos alone, to be able to cut the application waiting period to one week,” he stated.

Aregbesola further said that due to funding constraints, the government might consider a public-private partnership arrangement to set up more passport front offices as part of other steps to deal with the challenges in urban centres where applications for passports are unusually high.

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The minister further announced that in the next few days, more passport front offices would be inaugurated in Daura, Katsina State; Jere, Zaria in Kaduna State; Ilesa in Osun State; Oyo in Oyo State and a special one at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos to cater to Nigerians in the Diaspora with expired passports to renew their passports or get reissue for the new enhanced e-Passport.

He also inaugurated the newly-reconstructed office complex at the Alagbon Close, Ikoyi headquarters of the Lagos State Command of the NIS, which he said was part of the Federal Government’s commitment to provide conducive workplace environment for the workforce in order to enhance productivity.

Isah Jere Idris, Comptroller General of Immigration (CGI), earlier in his speech stated that the Alimosho Passport Front Office was commissioned with a view to decongesting passport processing/issuing centres with overwhelming traffic, while noting that the challenge with passport administration was about the process, and not the booklets.

“So, there is a need to continue to expand the infrastructure like what we are doing here today. We are privileged to be witnessing the commissioning and take-off of this legacy project by the Hon. Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, the purpose of which is to decongest traffic at the Ikoyi, Festac and Alausa Passport offices and bring services closer to indigenes of the largest local government area in Lagos State and its environs,” he stated.