Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, the minister of interior, has promised to address the delays that Nigerians living abroad face when applying for passports.
In an effort to make getting a passport easier for people living abroad, he announced that by February 2024, more passport desk offices would be opened all over the world.
The Minister talked on Thursday when he was a guest on Arise News.
Tunji-Ojo promised that those Nigerians living abroad who had been apprehended would receive their passports within the following three weeks.
He mentioned that his focus is now on those living abroad after resolving the backlogs in the nation.
“It is unacceptable that Canada only has one passport office,” stated Tunji-Ojo. Although the government may not have the resources to open passport offices everywhere, we must work with private organisations to make this happen. For example, in the UK, you have to travel to London to get your passport, regardless of where you live. Additionally, corruption emerges when there is an excessive demand for something.
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“I promise that we will have passport front offices worldwide by February of the following year. We are also making great efforts to guarantee that Nigerians who have already been apprehended and living abroad will receive their passports. Now that the domestic problems have been resolved, our attention is turned to the diaspora. Within the next two to three weeks, we’ll make sure that everyone who was apprehended receives their passports.
Speaking about the need to reduce corruption in the nation’s passport administration, the minister said technology adoption would be very beneficial.
The best defence against corruption, he said, is to limit human interaction. Technology adoption is necessary to stop this and improve the services we provide. Nigerians should also refrain from obtaining their passports through proxies.
