Muhammad Babandede, the new comptroller-general of the
Nigeria immigration service (NIS), says he has authorised state commands to
replace lost passports, and also commence change of name due to marriage.
Both exercises were hitherto done in Abuja.
Babandede also pledged to decentralise and eliminate
corruption at all passport offices in the country, saying reorganisation of the
passport offices, was part of the sweeping reforms that has been embarked on by
his administration.
The immigration boss disclosed this at a programme in
Abuja on Thursday.
“Approval for replacement of lost passports shall henceforth
be given by state comptrollers after online vetting and processing of
application at the Passport Division in the Service’s headquarters,” he said.
“The minister of interior, Rtd Lt.-Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazau
has tasked me to embark on this reform.
“We have taken stock of previous reforms, so what we are
doing now is to decentralise the process, so that everybody do not need to come
to Abuja for their passport.
“You know this creates tension in the system and even
encourages corruption because of the pressure.”
The Immigration boss said that as part of efforts to root
out corruption at passport offices, the official fees/categories of passports
will henceforth be displayed at various passport offices to ensure
transparency.
According to him, the 64 page e-passport still costs
N20,000, 32 page booklet costs N15,000 (18-60 years) while those below 18 years
and above 60 years cost N8, 750.
He urged Nigerians to insist on paying the official fees at
the designated passport offices or pay online at the official immigration
website to avoid exploitation by touts and agents.
Babandede said the NIS was also working to ensure
availability of all categories of passport booklets, especially the 32 page
booklet which is always in high demand “to avoid any confusion”.
He said additional passport offices will also be opened in
state commands where the existing passport office is getting overwhelmed with
demand to ensure efficient service delivery.
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