Article summary
- The NIS said the Buhari administration was able to establish 10 new passport offices in the last 8 years.
- It added that the reforms carried out by the administration have made it easier to obtain the country’s international passport easier.
- The Service said Nigeria’s borders are now well-secured with technology.
The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has said that the outgoing administration led by President Muhammadu Buhari created 10 new passport offices in the last 8 years to ease passport processes in the country.
The spokesperson of NIS, Tony Akuneme, who disclosed this during a chat with the media said the new offices brought the total number of passport offices in the country to 50. According to him, the new offices include one in Alimosho, Lagos, making four offices in Lagos now.
He said Another one was set up in Oyo town and another in Ilesha in Osun State. He said two more were created in Abuja, which increased offices in the FCT to 5.
He added one was created in Auchi, Minna, and Daura, among others.
Revitalisation of NIS
Highlighting the achievements of Buhari’s administration in the NIS, Akuneme said the Service witnessed tremendous revitalisation in the last eight years of th3 Buhari-led administration.
- “Until his administration, obtaining a Nigerian Passport was very cumbersome, as it involved manual application and processing. It was very difficult for one to process a passport by himself or herself, most people sought the services of agents or touts.
- “However, in Buhari’s administration, one can use a personal phone to apply and make payment.’’
He explained that the passport reform was able to eliminate passport touts, who defrauded a lot of applicants.
Border management
Akuneme added that the right technologies were deployed to ensure safe borders, improved border patrol as well as safety of personnel in the last eight years of the Buhari-led administration.
- “Border management equipment was deployed to 32 air borders and 26 other locations, these technologies are the best and most sophisticated in the world. The NIS under the same administration has considered the option of deploying unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) also known as drones, for effective border management, if given approval.
- “Buhari awarded the contract for the installation of the electronic border surveillance system, to monitor the nation’s land borders, to checkmate illegal migration. The Electronic Digital Technology ( EDT) would be deployed across the nation’s border to ensure 24 hours round-the-clock, surveillance of all border lines in the country,” he said.
The NIS spokesperson added that the promotion examination in the service had been carried out consistently and officers who performed well at their duty posts were also rewarded.
He explained that the reward system had encouraged officers to improve their individual performances.
- “Apart from rewards, there are also sanctions for erring officers, to serve as a deterrent to others,” he added.
The NIS recently announced the dismissal of eight members of staff of the NIS.
Also, 18 other personnel were sanctioned for various offenses ranging from gross misconduct, employment racketeering, and other forms of corrupt practices.