From Lateef Dada, Osogbo
Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, said the Nigeria Immigration Service issued 1.8 million booklets in 2022 and efforts were on to increase it this year.
He said the Federal Government was committed to alleviating the challenges of Nigerians in applying for and obtaining passports through improved service delivery and streamlining of its operations.
Aregbesola stated this in Osun State during the commissioning of the Passport Front Office and Production Centre in his hometown, Ilesa.
He said the surge in the number of applications necessitates the establishment of more passport front offices across the country by President Muhammadu Buhari-administration to further make the process seamless.
He said fresh application would take six weeks after biometric data capture, while renewal requires just three weeks.
“To respond to the challenge, we increased our production capacity. In 2021, we produced one million booklets. Last year, we increased production to 1.8 million, nearly doubling our efforts. We shall keep working at it to ensure we provide for as many Nigerians as they are desirous of the passport.
Governor Ademola Adeleke commended Aregbesola for the love of the state and promised and assured him he will complete all the projects of Aregbesola abandoned by the immediate past administration.
“No matter the party you are, if you are a progressive, you are a progressive if you are doing what the people want. When he was governor, he loved the people and the people loved him. All the projects Ogbeni left, it was abandoned for years. I promised the people during my campaign that I was going to continue the projects, and that is what I am doing.
“As a civilised person, no matter the party you are, you will always love progress. That is why I will always continue to ensure all developmental projects are continued. As a federal minister from the state, we are proud of your achievements and we will continue to be proud of you.
“I am assuring you, I am issuing an executive order, this is your state, nobody can chase you away. You are welcome at any time. Very soon, I will move to a government house but I am going to fix it up a little bit. The magnificent building that you started I am going to complete it and you will do the commissioning and you will be the first person to sleep in the building,” Adeleke said.
Earlier, the Controller General of NIS, Isah Jere Idris, commended the leadership of the ministry of interior for providing transformational leadership for the service.
He said in the last few years, efforts have been concerted to make sure Nigerians can easily access their passports and other services, guaranteeing internal security, in the most convenient way.
Dignitaries at the event included Deputy Governor, Kola Adewusi, SSG, Teslim Igbalaye, Speaker, Osun House of Assembly, Timothy Owoeye, the top echelon of the NIS, political functionaries in APC and PDP in Osun, among others.