The Nigeria Immigration Service officials have lamented that the newly introduced automated passport application process has become an obstacle instead of expediting passport acquisition for Nigerians.
This is because the newly introduced conditions, which could not be met by applicants, have left many of them stranded in passport issuing offices across the country.
Investigation revealed that some of the conditions included the provision of letter of identification from the local government by applicants renewing their passport, a condition hitherto given to applicants obtaining a passport for the first time.
Many Nigerians, who returned from overseas to Lagos and Abuja could not go to their local government areas to obtain a letter of identification within the limited time they have.
The new policy also insisted that minors should obtain a letter of identification as well as the elderly, who in the past were given waivers, as minors were identified by their parents whose data page of their passports were attached to the minor’s application.
It was also learnt that the fee for a five-year passport has been increased by N10, 000, from N25, 000 to N35, 000, which has not been made public but applicants were asked to add the amount while paying for the passport.
Applicants were also asked to provide passport photographs with American standard specification of size and white background, but Immigration officials said NIS did not use passports provided by applicants in the passport.
Instead, they were put in the file of the applicant while the passport of the applicant was captured by the system, which is what appears on the data page of the passport, meaning the request for passport specification was not necessary.
A fortnight ago, the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, unveiled the automated passport application process in Abuja and assured the public that this new solution would enhance national security and data protection.
The minister explained that the new reform sought to redefine how citizens enrolled and procured the international passport with an emphasis on convenience, reduced processing time, and an overall seamless experience.
But newsmen learnt that instead of reducing processing time, the new conditions had begun to cause delays and because many applicants were not meeting the new conditions, a few applicants were qualified to be processed.
An Immigration official at the Ikoyi passport office said that, “The delay we are having is that many applicants are not meeting the new conditions introduced by the Ministry of Interior. How can you tell a minor to go and get a letter of identification from his local government of origin?
“Our passport before now has met the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standard. In 2007, we were the third country to meet the ICAO standard after Germany and Britain and our passport was studied by others because of its security features,” the official said.
The source, however, disclosed that, “Nothing is working at the passport offices all over the federation. Date of birth and letter of identification are not required for passport renewal, but they have been made compulsory.
“So, it is difficult for people to meet that requirement, especially thousands of Nigerians who returned from overseas.
“We didn’t know about the increase in the price of the five-year passport till now and the media hype of the new changes in the process of obtaining the passport was to ostensibly hide the fact that N10,000 was added to the cost of five-year passport.”
Cost of passports currently is as follows: the five-year passport is now N35, 000 plus bank charges of N2, 000, totaling N37, 000 and the 10-year passport is N70, 000 plus N2000 bank charges, totaling N72, 000.
Another official, who spoke to at the Ikoyi passport office said there was no time frame for applicants to obtain their passports because it has become very difficult for many applicants to meet the new requirements.
“Securing your passport is now rigorous because of unnecessary documentation requirements. It is difficult for minors and old people to meet the new requirements. These are not security risks. That was why they were exempted.
“How can you tell someone born in the 1930s to bring a date of birth certificate and an infant to get a letter from its local government of origin? Before now senior citizens were given waivers.
“Currently passport processing is not going on because the system uploading and processing them is rejecting the data pages which have not met the new stringent conditions.
“We wonder why Nigerians were not notified that the price of passports has increased. I can tell you that even the Comptroller of Immigration did not know about the increase,” the official at the Ikoyi passport office said.
Also, the spokesman of the Nigeria Immigration Service, Mr. Tony Akuneme, said he would not speak on the matter because it has to do with policy and therefore is very sensitive.
He added that the only persons that could speak on it were the Minister of Interior and the Comptroller General of Immigration.
Chinedu Eze
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