Immigration CG orders special team to clear passport backlogs at Ikoyi office

Idris Jere, Acting Comptroller-General, Nigeria Immigration Service, has ordered the Special Task Force Team of the Service to clear backlogs of passport applications in Ikoyi, Lagos State.

Jere directed the task force to proceed to the Ikoyi Passport Office to ensure all existing backlogs of passport applications were cleared within one week.

Spokesperson for the Service, Amos Okpu, disclosed this in a statement on Saturday, noting that the team had arrived in Ikoyi and had begun the clearance exercise.

It would be recalled that upon assumption in office, the acting CG had promised to deepen the passport issuance reform efforts, to ensure seamless passport issuance processes across the issuing centres.

In the statement, however, Okpu said the acting CG assured applicants who had been enrolled into the passport system in Ikoyi that the team had commenced issuance of notifications for collection to applicants whose passports were ready.

He assured applicants that some drastic changes would be made in the station to improve the quality of service delivery.

The NIS boss further appealed to prospective passport applicants to endeavour to visit the Service’s website to apply and make payments for the passport categories of their choice.

“This is to avoid patronising anybody who will request applicants to make any cash payments for Passports,” he added.