Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Friday restated its administration’s commitment to support the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) in its efforts to ease passport processing, visa issuance and ensure proper documentation of migrants.
He said that the state government would collaborate with the NIS to address issues, which included the provision of land for staff residence and passport offices, furniture for offices, and a good working environment for staff, among others to make the federal agency more effective in meeting the needs of Lagosians and Nigerians.
Receiving NIS leadership, led by its Acting Comptroller General, Caroline Adepoju, which paid him a courtesy visit at the Lagos House, Ikeja, the Governor urged the Service to be visa friendly and ensure that necessary measures are put in place not to make Nigeria visa difficult for foreigners to obtain.
He enjoined the NIS to show dynamism and put innovative ideas in place using technology to make the visa application and issuance easy for investors in the international community to come to Nigeria and Lagos in particular.
Sanwo-Olu, who wished the Acting Comptroller General success in her new assignment, implored the federal agency to judiciously utilise the support provided by Lagos State Government.
The Governor also tasked the NIS on proper documentation of migrants in Nigeria, adding that the agency should embark on advocacy programmes for people, especially migrants to be law-abiding and desist from committing crimes.
Earlier, Adepoju congratulated the Governor on his re-election and appreciated his support to the Service through the donation of utility vehicles, regular allocation of diesel and stipends to aid the smooth running of the state command, and the supply of a 200KVA generator to the Ikoyi Passport Office.
She said the NIS would continue to collaborate with the government and security agencies to ensure immigration processes were safe while putting in place reforms in line with its commitment to excellent delivery of services.
Adepoju, who noted that the state is too important to be neglected by the Nigeria Immigration Service as it is one of the few states that has three recognised entry points – land, sea, and water – said that one of the resolutions of the new NIS management is to open more passport offices in Lagos area, where about 50 per cent of Nigerians obtained passports.
She said that NIS, in line with its commitment to excellence, has launched initiatives to improve customer service experience, reduce processing times for passport processing and equally enhance the proper integration of immigrants into Nigeria.
