The Nigerian Government revealed that the reason some passports are delayed is due to discrepancies in National Identification Number (NIN) and the name filled in passport forms, which raises the delays beyond the recommended six weeks. 

This was disclosed on Sunday by the Comptroller of Immigration Service, Enugu Command, Mrs Azuka Halliday, marking NIS 60th anniversary celebrations in Enugu on Sunday. 

Mrs Halliday added that when the name on applicants’ NIN documents did not match the name in their passport forms, it delayed the time of delivery of their passports beyond the recommended six weeks. 

Platform  

The Immigration chief urged Nigerians to use the NIS online platform for passports applications to avoid complications including delays that might arise from using a third-party platform, citing that if the applicants faced issues other than the NIN/passport form name discrepancy, her office would be more open to attend to them quickly. 

Legacy 

Halliday noted that at 60, the Nigerian Immigration Service had delivered its core mandate which included, Issuance of passports and other travelling documents, Border Surveillance and Patrol, Enforcement of laws and Regulations and others to Nigerians. 

She noted that the National Migration Policy, adopted in 2015 ensures that the country got optimum development from international migration, citing contributions from a substantial percentage to global migration as a major country of origin, transit and destination in terms of global migration, she noted: 

• “For effective implementation of the global migration policy, NIS is now saddled with the role of border management, ensuring national border security, seamless regular migration and economic development of the country. 

• “NIS has developed a streamlined building programme for its workforce nationally that would ensure proactive, effective and efficient service delivery as well as the introduction of modern technology to enhance its operations. 
• “All these innovations is to keep our borders safe,”  

In case you missed it 

Recall Nairametrics reported last week that a recent report by Henley and Partners in partnership with IATA,  placed Nigeria’s passport ranking at the 90th position, tying with South Sudan.   

Among African countries, Nigeria’s passport stands as the fifth lowest in terms of visa-free travel opportunities. 

The country only fares slightly better than the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Eritrea, Sudan, and Libya, all of which face significant challenges related to insecurity and violence.   

In stark contrast, South Africa leads the continent with the best-performing passport, allowing its citizens to visit 106 countries without the need for visas. Botswana closely follows with access to 89 countries, trailed by Papua New Guinea (83 countries), Namibia (81 countries), Kenya (76 countries), Malawi (75 countries), and Tunisia (71 countries).