Passport: NIS director directs an inquiry into alleged misbehaviour

A probe into several accusations of suspected misconduct against NIS officers in some passport offices around the nation has been ordered by Caroline Adepoju, the acting comptroller general of the agency.

This information was provided in a statement released on Saturday in Abuja by the Service Public Relations Officer, Dr. Adedotun Aridegbe.

Concerned about the state of affairs, Adepoju ordered an immediate investigation, especially in light of the disregard for ministerial guidelines regulating the processing time for passports.

She stated, “A new deadline of two weeks for processing and issuing passports was announced by the minister on October 4 after the total removal of passport application backlogs nationally in accordance with the instruction of the Interior Minister, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo.

“The public was given various phone numbers by the minister and the NIS to report misconduct by NIS employees at any NIS office.

The service has consistently checked the degree of compliance at each passport office in the country and at our overseas missions.

“All Passport Control Officers provide daily updates to us on the creation and issuing of passports.

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The majority of our passport offices are currently printing passports for applicants who registered on Wednesday, October 11.

Adepoju clarified, however, that applications for data update and re-issuance of missing passports take longer.

She continued by saying that certain applicants in this category would damage the service’s reputation if they voiced complaints about delays and failure to adhere to the revised deadline.

Before approval for manufacturing, she explained, “These applications are required to go through security clearance and communication with Service Headquarters.”

The head of NIS urged the general public to get in touch with the agency through its various public communication channels, including Twitter and Facebook accounts (@nigimmigration), as well as the contact centre at 09121900655, 09121556359, and 09121477092, in order to report any type of employee misconduct and request the necessary sanctions. (NAN)