Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola has queried an officer of the Nigerian Immigration Service for ‘breach of due process’ at the Alausa passport office in Lagos State, Southwest Nigeria.
Gatekeepers News reports that Aregbesola, who visited the office on Wednesday unannounced issued the query after listening to the complaints from applicants who were waiting for their passport data capture.
One of them was said to have complained about the cumbersome nature of the application process, stating that she was asked to fill out a manual form that she had earlier filled online.
According to a statement by Aregbesola’s Media Adviser, Sola Fasure, the Minister asked the Passport Control Officer at the station, B. L. Bukar, to explain the breach of due process, noting that such a request was strange.
Following this, the officer who allegedly sold the obnoxious form and made the request for the manual filling was identified and subsequently queried.
The statement quoted Aregbesola as saying, “I have said it for the umpteenth time that Nigerians must stop patronizing touts either in uniforms or in civilian clothing. The only way for you to apply for your passport is online.
“The attempt to get passports on the go and boycott the standardised collection timeline of three weeks for reissue and six weeks for fresh application after capturing, which is the main reason why many patronize touts, will only end in disappointment.
“Our appointment-based system for capturing applicants’ data and standardized passport collection procedure has made nonsense of promise by touts to deliver passports to applicants who patronize them. Patronising them will only end in disappointment.”
The statement further stated that the Minister urged Nigerians to totally avoid the patronage of touts, stating that if they cooperate with the government, the ongoing passport reforms will work and the system will be improved overall.
