Complains galore as Nigerian Immigration Service runs out of passport booklets
– Passport booklets are no longer available in most states of the country
– Several applicants are stranded in several passports offices across the country
– The Nigerian Immigration Service says the booklets have been out of stock since five months ago
A report by Daily Sun claims the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) have run out of booklets causing several applicants to be stranded in several passports offices across the country.
NIS Comptroller Martin Kure Abeshi and his team have to address this anomaly
According to the report, Nigerians who either want to renew or procure international passport at the moment are finding it extremely difficult because the booklets are no longer available in most states of the country.
At the Ikoyi, Festac, Ikeja offices of NIS, among other popular places, thousands of Nigerians are queueing to procure the passport without any success.
An applicant, Iyare Odili said he had paid about N30,000 for a 64-page passport but had not been able to receive the document in the last two months.
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His words: “This issue is not peculiar to me alone; almost everyone who is here has similar stories to tell. The hype about 24 hours issuance is long gone because the immigration officers cannot say categorically when the booklets will get to the country. They keep saying it is government business to ensure that the booklets are imported.
“Must we import everything? Why can’t the government procure the machine and produce the quantity needed here. It is not just fair. Nigeria is called the giant of Africa but still behaving like a dwarf.
“This should be a wake up call; every citizen should have this document as it has remained one official document even for financial transactions.”
Some officers, who spoke on the condition of anonymity stated that several factors, including foreign exchange and manipulation of pushing the recent 62-page booklet down the throat of applicants, are major causes of the scarcity.
However, the public relations officer of the NIS, Deputy Comptroller Ekpedeme King, in a recent interview said it was only the 32-page booklets that are scarce and not the 62-page.
“The scarcity of the 32-page passport booklets was due to issue arising from high increase in dollar exchange rate.
“The 62-page passport booklet is available for purchase and anyone who wants to travel urgently should go for it,” King was quoted as saying.
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Meanwhile, the European Union has commenced talks with Nigerian foreign ministry officials on their plans to start sending Nigerian migrants in Europe back home.
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