Nigerians should no longer queue endlessly for passports, Tunji-Ojo tells NIS

Minister of Interior, Hon. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, has charged the Acting Comptroller General of Immigration, Adepoju Carol Wura-Ola, to end the long queues of Nigerians at passport offices across the country.

He gave this directive while speaking at a brief with the Acting Comptroller General of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) and Controller General of the Nigerian Correctional Service, Haliru Nababa.

Alao Babatunde, Chief Press Secretary to the Minister of Interior, in a statement, said the Minister reiterated the order of President Bola Ahmad Tinubu on getting all hands on deck.

“I am just returning from a meeting with the president. He is not interested in excuses. We must work and deliver. Anyone who cannot help Nigeria record progress must be kicked out because we can actually be great.

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“Let me know your challenges. I am here to help you solve them. When you solve them and record successes, I am also successful. The time of talks is gone. So, keep your talk. Let us discuss solutions.

“Nigerians should not have to queue endlessly to get passports. No, this must stop. This is not the Nigeria of our dream. I need to know the challenges the agency is facing.

“We must all come together to deploy and invest our expertise to resolve them. Nigerians will take us up on our promises. If we have officers who are not ready for this rigorous process, we will excuse them,” he said.

He reminded the agency heads that the new administration was not interested in usual talks and essay presentations, but actions to deliver value and growth.

He said: “The Ministry of Interior is the heart of any nation. I want you to return to your tables and bring up action plans. It is my job to ensure the ministry is working.”

The Minister also underscored the importance of leveraging technology as a means to enhance efficiency and accuracy within the immigration and correctional services.

The minister highlighted that the implementation of advanced technological solutions could significantly reduce delays and streamline the handling of critical challenges.