One Week After THE WHISTLER Report, NIS Stops Cash Payment At Passport Offices

The Nigerian Immigration Service has announced that no passport applicant is expected to make cash payment for services rendered in the passport offices across the nation.

The Comptroller-General of the Service, Muhammed Babandede disclosed this in Abuja on Thursday, during the commissioning of a live public chatroom and the resuscitation of the SERVICOM.

THE WHISTLER had exclusively reported last week how some officers of the NIS have established their own “service centres” outside of their offices.

A tent in the premises served as reception area for people seeking to acquire Nigerian passports or renew an old one.

This Website had reported how NIS officers from their different offices come to meet their clients at the tent after a phone call. Some come with envelopes containing newly issued passports while some walk to the data capturing room with their clients.

Those taken to the data capturing room are treated like VIPs and do not spend much time as others who followed the official channels and had been invited for data capturing after months of registration on the NIS portal.

For those seeking Nigerian international passport, no one would tell you to get an agent—usually an official of NIS—unless you make enquiries.

THE WHISTLER made such enquiry recently at the NIS headquarters and discovered that the easiest and faster way to get a passport is to first hire an agent, an immigration officer or anyone who knows an officer.

If you don’t know anyone, just go to the headquarters and someone will be lurking around to ask what you need.

But the NIS CG said payments made by cash has promoted increased cases of corruption among officer.

He said, “Today, any customer can make payment for any of our services with his or her phone because we have simplify the process therefore, don’t come to our passports offices with cash, this will reduce corruption.

“Now, we have more efficient communication and chat line that encourages Nigerians to reach us directly with any of their complaints and enquiries and we will respond immediately, it is real time.”

Speaking further, Babandede said that the Service has eliminated too much fillings of forms and have also fashioned an appointment system whereby customers don’t have to go to any passports office and stay all day waiting.

He added, “Instead, you only come on appointment, get attended to and leave without wasting your time.”

The National Coordinator and Chief Executive Officer of SERVICOM, Nnenna Akajemeli, in her remarks said that the chatroom and call centre would boost service delivery in the service.

According to her, the NIS a government institution, is customer sensitive taking advantage of the ICT era for improved service delivery to Nigerians and foreigners alike.

“We are are no longer in the era of bribes as everything is down to e-government. These services are here for Nigerians and they must learn to take advantage of having a real time engagement with the government.