NIS Soon To Adopt Online Passport Registration

This was according to the Comptroller-General (CG) of the service, Muhammed Babandede, while addressing officers at the NIS headquarters in Abuja.

In a statement issued by the spokesman of NIS, Ekpedeme King, the new initiative is for the service to do away with backlogs of passport applications, as they have been bitter complaints by applicants at the passport office.

On the heels of this development, the CG also gave the passport issuing office 48 hours to clear all backlog of passport applications.

According to the statement Babandede said that “the existing channels will be followed when treating applications for facilities but the difference is that it will be done electronically.”

“In the same vein the CGI has delegated some of his responsibilities such as the approval of certain categories of passport applications to his deputies and assistants in order to reduce the work load for the CGI as well as facilitate the processing of passport.

“Also, the state governments will be expected to provide comptrollers in their states with the lists of state commissioners, and aides of their governors for verification. The comptrollers will confirm the eligibility of the applicants to the service headquarters. This reform is to facilitate the process of issuance of official/service passports as the approval would have been granted before they visit the dervice headquarters for biometric data acquisition.

“Babandede also stated that it is his desire to reform our processes down to the local government area level in order to promote the ease of doing business in Nigeria. For as we all know when the foreign investors bring their business to Nigeria they also provide employment opportunities for our teeming youths.

“He has set a timeline of two months to complete the reforms in passport administration.”