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‘e-Passport Acquisition Getting Better’
- By Justina Okpanku
- Published September 13th, 2010
- Leisure & Style
- Unrated
WITH traffic on the decline at some of the nation’s Passport Offices, now is the best time for applicants to renew their e-Passport to beat the January 1 2011 deadline. JUSTINE OKPANKU reports
HARD times await Nigerians who are unable to change to the e-Passport as the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has bared its fang threatening to stop holders of the old non-machine readable passport. It’s a surprise that people are not in a hurry to renew their passports before the January 1, 2011 deadline already announced by the Service.
As you may have heard, the Service began revamping its system since 1999 to cope with the expected increase in demand for issuance of passports. It has also stopped accepting walk-ins when automated appointment system was introduced.
It is believed that the appointment procedure which is used in many countries will save travellers from hours of waiting and using middle men (touts). Applicants are expected to visit the NIS website to select a convenient date and time to arrive. There is no doubt that NIS has been revamping the service recently.
The problem is, in less than three months it will be difficult for people to acquire the important document.
Already, some embassies and airlines operating in the country insist visa applicants and customers provide the new passport. It is not clear what NIS has done to sensitise Nigerians on the importance of early application. It can do something.
This writer visited Passports Office, Alagbon in Ikoyi, Lagos said to be the highest passport producing centre in Africa recently
on a fact-finding mission: How is the Service coping with an expected increase in demand for the e-Passport in respect of the January deadline?
It is usually difficult to get any NIS official to speak to anybody from the Press. That day was no exception.
Interestingly, a senior official who asked for anonymity said they have posters announcing the deadline for the e-Passport. She claimed applicants do not have problems in terms of getting the passport, especially with automation and efficiency of the staff.
She was emphatic that they employ first-come-first-serve basis in dealing with applicants.
“If you are captured the system gives you a date. I know all the passports due for collection in August (last month) has been produced. There is no backlog,” she noted.
She also revealed that the demand for the document has declined in the past two days or so especially as the summer will soon end.
“In June and July, we experienced an increase of 3,000 to 4,000 a week. Currently, the demand has declined drastically. The trend will rise again and there must be an increase in December. We may have between 7,000 and 10, 000 applications a week,” she said. “Now is the best time for applicants to renew their passport,” she added.
Mixing up with some of the applicants, some of them said they were surprised “there is no rush to get the e-Passport”.
You won’t look too far to notice the number of applicants in the expansive compound housing passport office was not much compared to what it used to be.
And a lot of them said they were impressed with the positive attitude of the Service since they came.
A lady who gave her name as simply
Madam Nkechi expressed the sentiments of other applicants. She said: I did not pay anybody extra money beside the official N8, 750 rate (standard passport). The touts who used to disturb applicants have been cleared. All it takes is patience to wait for a few days before the collection date.”
The Chief Passport Officer, Mr. Emma Ogbumuo was said to have said ‘no touting” from day one last May when he resumed his appointment as PCO.
You also notice there is a proper organisation so that people don’t loiter about the place.
It was gathered that as early as 7.30 am on a working day applicants on appointment arrive and take their seats under a shed constructed for them in the compound where they will be briefed on what to do.
“As one of them put it,” I kept looking back from my front seat in the shed to check if more people have come. It was a relief for me as I don’t want to waste time”
Another said, “You are smart you didn’t wait until December. People are used to last minute effort in this country; it is the same in renewing their passport. But that will be wrong as you know a lot of Nigerians resident in countries around the world would come to renew passports while visiting home during the Christmas season.”
It is gathered that there are encumbrances set up by some Nigerian missions abroad for the sought after document.
HARD times await Nigerians who are unable to change to the e-Passport as the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has bared its fang threatening to stop holders of the old non-machine readable passport. It’s a surprise that people are not in a hurry to renew their passports before the January 1, 2011 deadline already announced by the Service.
As you may have heard, the Service began revamping its system since 1999 to cope with the expected increase in demand for issuance of passports. It has also stopped accepting walk-ins when automated appointment system was introduced.
It is believed that the appointment procedure which is used in many countries will save travellers from hours of waiting and using middle men (touts). Applicants are expected to visit the NIS website to select a convenient date and time to arrive. There is no doubt that NIS has been revamping the service recently.
The problem is, in less than three months it will be difficult for people to acquire the important document.
Already, some embassies and airlines operating in the country insist visa applicants and customers provide the new passport. It is not clear what NIS has done to sensitise Nigerians on the importance of early application. It can do something.
This writer visited Passports Office, Alagbon in Ikoyi, Lagos said to be the highest passport producing centre in Africa recently
on a fact-finding mission: How is the Service coping with an expected increase in demand for the e-Passport in respect of the January deadline?
It is usually difficult to get any NIS official to speak to anybody from the Press. That day was no exception.
Interestingly, a senior official who asked for anonymity said they have posters announcing the deadline for the e-Passport. She claimed applicants do not have problems in terms of getting the passport, especially with automation and efficiency of the staff.
She was emphatic that they employ first-come-first-serve basis in dealing with applicants.
“If you are captured the system gives you a date. I know all the passports due for collection in August (last month) has been produced. There is no backlog,” she noted.
She also revealed that the demand for the document has declined in the past two days or so especially as the summer will soon end.
“In June and July, we experienced an increase of 3,000 to 4,000 a week. Currently, the demand has declined drastically. The trend will rise again and there must be an increase in December. We may have between 7,000 and 10, 000 applications a week,” she said. “Now is the best time for applicants to renew their passport,” she added.
Mixing up with some of the applicants, some of them said they were surprised “there is no rush to get the e-Passport”.
You won’t look too far to notice the number of applicants in the expansive compound housing passport office was not much compared to what it used to be.
And a lot of them said they were impressed with the positive attitude of the Service since they came.
A lady who gave her name as simply
Madam Nkechi expressed the sentiments of other applicants. She said: I did not pay anybody extra money beside the official N8, 750 rate (standard passport). The touts who used to disturb applicants have been cleared. All it takes is patience to wait for a few days before the collection date.”
The Chief Passport Officer, Mr. Emma Ogbumuo was said to have said ‘no touting” from day one last May when he resumed his appointment as PCO.
You also notice there is a proper organisation so that people don’t loiter about the place.
It was gathered that as early as 7.30 am on a working day applicants on appointment arrive and take their seats under a shed constructed for them in the compound where they will be briefed on what to do.
“As one of them put it,” I kept looking back from my front seat in the shed to check if more people have come. It was a relief for me as I don’t want to waste time”
Another said, “You are smart you didn’t wait until December. People are used to last minute effort in this country; it is the same in renewing their passport. But that will be wrong as you know a lot of Nigerians resident in countries around the world would come to renew passports while visiting home during the Christmas season.”
It is gathered that there are encumbrances set up by some Nigerian missions abroad for the sought after document.
