Nigeria’s Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, has sharply criticised officials of the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) over delays and inefficiencies in passport processing, following an unannounced visit to the passport office in Gwagwalada, Abuja.
The minister carried out the inspection on Tuesday, January 20, visiting the VIP and Children section of the facility, where he expressed dissatisfaction with the slow pace of operations several hours after the office was scheduled to begin work.
Tunji-Ojo engaged directly with both immigration officers and passport applicants, questioning why many people were still waiting despite having arrived early. He also took feedback from applicants, many of whom complained about prolonged delays.
During the visit, the minister warned officials against collecting any payments outside officially approved fees, stressing that Nigerians had already paid fully for passport services.
“I don’t want to hear that you are collecting money for diesel or paper. Nigerians have paid for their passports completely. Serve them diligently,” he said.
He expressed concern that only a handful of applicants had been attended to well into the morning, despite the section being designated for expedited services.
“By 9:30am, I expect to see at least one or two applicants already processed. I can see people waiting downstairs, and our responsibility is to be efficient,” the minister stated.
Tunji-Ojo further questioned officials on the slow enrolment and biometric capturing process, noting that each applicant should be processed within minutes.
“How long does it take to do an enrolment? Three minutes. So three times seven is 21 minutes,” he said, emphasising that delays were unjustifiable.
Immigration officers admitted that although the office was scheduled to open at 8am, operations began later due to power supply issues, with the generator reportedly switched on around 9am.
Reacting, the minister criticised the practice of enrolling all applicants before commencing biometric capturing, insisting that both processes should run simultaneously to minimise waiting time.
“It doesn’t make sense. People are waiting, and some still need to go to work. Why must you wait until you enrol everybody before you start capturing? You are wasting people’s precious time. Time is money. Time is expensive. It is unacceptable,” he said.
He also faulted the under-utilisation of the VIP and Children section, noting that applicants waiting in overcrowded areas could have been redirected to ease congestion.
“It will not cost you anything to use this place for them,” Tunji-Ojo added.
The minister reiterated that efficiency, fairness and service to citizens must remain the priority of all passport offices nationwide.
“Nigeria has no VIP. When you wear this uniform, you wear a uniform of sacrifice. You are here to work for the people,” he said.