The Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) said it has produced 204,332 passports within three weeks.
Addressing newsmen in Abuja, the NIS e Acting Comptroller General, Mrs Caroline Wuraola-Adepoju said the challenge the service is having so far is that only 91,981 applicants have collected their passports.
She noted that a state of emergency was declared on passport issuance when she assumed office few months ago.
According to her, the coming of the minister of interior was an additional blessing as he activated all within his power to ensure the backlogs were cleared.
She therefore called on Nigerians who applied for the travel document to come for the pick at no extra cost.
According to her, “We worked at weekends to ensure we meet up with the target the Minister gave us. Applicants should please visit the centres where they applied for the document and pick them, They are ready.”
According to her, “My heart bleeds when someone calls me and says Madam CG, my passport is somewhere hanging, maybe when I intervene, they would quickly get their passport. I want us to get to the point when you don’t need to call anybody before you could procure a passport.
“When the system is fully automated, we would create a link through which you can monitor your application and production process. Any officer of the NIS caught in malpractices would be severely punished. I have the directive of the minister to make scape Goat of any official who refuses to conform. I can assure you we want to succeed. Many of our officers have been sleeping in the offices to ensure we meet up with the clearance of backlog. We are all ready to render service compact to all our compatriots.”
Some of the new measure the service took, according to Adepoju was that their partners increased the number of production machines while officers and men ran multiple shifts at passport production centres.
She urged Nigerians with any complaint against poor services being rendered to call the SERVICOM Department on 08067761996 and the Immigration Public Relations Officer on 08038125789.