The Minister of Interior, Hon. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo has vowed to tackle the delays Nigerians in the diaspora encounter obtaining their passports.
He said more passport desk offices would be established worldwide by February 2024 to ease the burden of obtaining a passport among those in the diaspora.
The Minister spoke when he appeared as a guest on Arise News on Thursday.
Tunji-Ojo assured that Nigerians in the diaspora who had been captured would get their passports in the next three weeks.
He noted that after clearing the backlogs in the country, his attention has shifted to those in the diaspora.
Tunji-Ojo said, “Canada has only one passport office which is unacceptable. The government might not be able to afford to establish passport offices all over the world, but we have to collaborate with private organisations to achieve this. For instance, in the United Kingdom, no matter your location you have to come to London for your passports. And when there is an over-demand for something, corruption sets in.
“I can assure you that by February next year, we will have passport front offices all over the world. Also, we are working very hard to ensure Nigerians in the diaspora already captured will get their passports. We have sorted the domestic issues, we are now focused on those in the diaspora. We will ensure that those who have been captured get their passports in the next two to three weeks. ”
Speaking on reducing corruption in the administration of passports in the country, the minister said the adoption of technology would help a great deal.
He said, “The best way to prevent corruption is to avoid human contact as much as possible. We must adopt technology to curb this and also to enhance our service delivery. Also, Nigerians should avoid getting their passports by proxies”.
