Assessing Reforms And Milestones Of The Nigeria Immigration Service

Muhammad Babandede MFR 

             Comptroller General of Immigration 

NIS PASSPORT OFFICE REFORMS AND THE PUBLIC SERVICE PERCEPTIONS: The Nigeria Immigration Service under the leadership of the Comptroller General of Immigration Service Muhammad Babandede MFR has undergone multiple operational reforms that has addressed multifaceted issues  relating to passport process and issuance.

The public are the best judge to rate the NIS improved services from the Airport, Seaport and Land Border frontiers, to the issuance of Visa on Arrival,Temporary Work Permit, Biometric Visa etc. 

As an organisation that deals with requests from foreign organisations, bodies and individuals, the service cannot afford to offer services that negates international best practices. Hence, the deployment of advance technologies to service the needs of Nigerians for passport and International entities for visas and other relevant facilities.                      

Nigerians holders of the green passport are proud to have the green passport  today due to acceptability and value,contrary to past experiences where the mere sight of a green passport calls for suspicion and ill treatment.

Nigerians are no longer singled out in a crowd just for holding a green passport, it is a major achievement worthy of appreciation, that today Nigerian green passport is one of the most secured passport globally, the service providers are to be commended for giving the country an ICAO standard passport that matches any other in the world.                 

The CGI Muhammad Babandede MFR has brought his wealth of experience to bear in ensuring that Nigerias passport falls among the best in security, quality and global standard rating by ICAO, the 10 year validity passport was designed to meet the needs of Nigerians in the Diaspora to reduce the frequent contact or application for renewal of expired passports.

Considering the distance covered by some applicants to the missions abroad, many Nigerians abroad can attest to the value addition having a 10 year validity passport, it guarantees  their continous stay at work and validate their residency status, it saves the cost of flight from one state abroad to another.                        

The Covid-19 pandemic has its toll on the operations of the NIS foreign offices in Nigerian Missions that have to comply with Country directives on Covid-19 protocols, especially countries that are still experiencing lockdown. The Nigerian Missions can not operate in isolation,neither can the NIS offices in those missions, many outcry of no services rendered are connected to lock down in those countries leading to shutting down of activities in those Missions, respect for the laws in those countries is paramount.

The NIS under the leadership of CGI Muhammad Babandede has developed a way for Nigerians with expired passport to return to Nigeria, if they have need by applying online to the Comptroller General of Immigration Service for approval to travel with expired passport to Nigeria, after receiving an approval conveyed to the applicant to be presented to the Airlines to enable them board aircraft to Nigeria when there is such need.

The introduction of the Nigerian Temporary Passport will help in reducing the stress and burden of travelling back to Nigeria when the individual losses his or her passport or other critical reasons where the passport is not available or valid. It serves to address such emergencies,  the various passport reforms is geared towards making Nigerians comfortable.              

Nigerian Immigration Service has proposed the need for the service to produce the passport locally and at its Service Headquarters, thereby domesticating production and having full ownership of production,processing and issuance. The service cannot afford to see Nigerians going through the stress of procuring a commodity they pay for. 

The Comptroller General has flushed out a whole passport command and its staff replacing them with new personnel, task forces have worked alongside some passport control offices to clear backlogs, passport officers are changed discretionary, all in an effort to make process, issuance and acquisition of passport seamless. 

Online process, online payments was introduced to eliminate touting and complains of extra charges but many Nigerians cannot do without cutting corners by using touts, third party when they can process and pay online themselves, unless we eliminate touts and third party that is been patronised by many applicants, the complains will not cease and the best offer by the service will not be seen to be yielding result.                       

The Comptroller General of Immigration Service Muhammad Babandede while appreciating positive criticisms and comments on shortcomings of some passport offices, he encourages Passport applicants to avoid touts, third party and do their processing online both application and payment and keep reporting any default or extra charges to the service. Also, to avoid the rush syndrome of "I need the passport urgently" unless for those on medical ground whose lives are threatened if delayed from travelling to access their choice medical vacation abroad which the service has always giving priority at all times including using mobile enrollment machines to capture such individuals at home and hospitals due to health related concerns.

Every effort put in place to eradicate sharp practices in passport offices will continue as far as the applicants will not resist, report and do online applications and payments and avoid the urgent syndrome. 

The service has resolved to prosecute both the giver and receiver of extra charges as corruption must be fought by all.                

Signed:DCI SUNDAY JAMES PCC, SERVICE PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICER, FOR:COMPTROLLER GENERAL OF IMMIGRATION SERVICE. 10th April 2021.