The Nigerian government has on Tuesday launched a tracking system to enable applicants to monitor the status of their passport application online.
Driving the news
The Minister of Interior, Rauf- Aregbesola represented by the Commissioner, Civil Defense, Customs, Fire Service and Immigration Board, Emmanuel Bassey, made the announcement assuring Nigerians that in no time this tracking system would grow into a fully digital application system completely eliminating the stress of visa application.
What the Minister is saying
The statement by the minister reiterated Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) position to ensure a seamless passport administration system. He added that it is Nigerians patriotic duty to ensure they uphold the standard process and not cut corners.
- The Minister said “those who go through touts and unscrupulous NIS officials are undermining our effort to eliminate corruption and institute a stress-free application system. It is, therefore, your patriotic duty to go through the official channel and avoid any practice that subverts the due process.’’
What you should know
- The federal government, in April 2022, had promised to launch this application system to reduce the interaction between applicants and immigration officers.
- The minister also clarified the reason for the delay in issuing the passport to be the linking of National Identity Number verification and linking as the designated period of obtaining a fresh passport to be six weeks and a renewal application for three weeks.