Senate To Probe Passport Issuance, Renewal Delay

The Senate has directed its Committee on the Interior to urgently investigate the circumstances leading to the delay of issuance and renewal of the Nigeria passport by the Nigerian Immigration Services.

The Upper Chamber also mandated the committee to investigate the contract award for the production of passports and revert to it on the findings from its investigation within two weeks.

The Senate’s resolution followed the adoption of a motion on the “Delay on issuance, renewal of Nigeria International Passport” by the Nigerian Immigration Services at plenary on Tuesday and was sponsored by the senator representing Anambra Central, Uche Ekwunife.

Ekwunife in her lead debate said the delay in the renewal of Nigeria’s passport by the NIS was resulting in untold hardships for Nigerians who need to travel out of the country or return to the country.

She said, “The passport is an official identity document issued to Nigerians for the purpose of travelling out and into the country in exercise of their rights to personal liberty and freedom of movement.

“Many Nigerians are still facing challenges with passport processing, despite the six-week timeline of processing passports given by the Federal Government barely a year ago.”

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According to Ekwunife, currently, new applicants and those who want their passports renewed spend between three and six months processing their application at the offices of the Nigerian Immigration Services and Nigeria embassies outside the country.

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Photo Credit: Getty