The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, has reprimanded officials of the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS)
This is over delays in passport processing .
He made this known during an unscheduled visit to the Gwagwalada Passport Office in Abuja on Tuesday.
During the inspection, the minister toured the VIP and Children sections.
He interacted with immigration officers, and engaged directly with passport applicants.
Also, he expressed concern that many applicants were still waiting long after the office was expected to begin operations.
Tunji-Ojo also warned applicants against making any extra payments to secure passports.
Furthermore, he stresses that Nigerians have already paid the full official fees for passport services and should not be extorted.
Receiving complaints from applicants, the minister voiced displeasure that only a handful of people had been attended to several hours after opening time, despite the section being designated for expedited services.
Also, he questioned officials on the slow pace of enrolment and biometric capturing.
He noted that each applicant should be processed within a matter of minutes if operations were properly coordinated.
Immigration officers explained that although the office was scheduled to open at 8:00am, operations did not begin until around 9:00am due to delays in powering the generator.
The minister criticised the practice of completing enrolment for all applicants before starting biometric capturing.
He insisted that both processes should run simultaneously to significantly reduce waiting time.
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Describing the situation as unacceptable and counterproductive, Tunji-Ojo directed officials to immediately improve efficiency and ensure timely service delivery.
