[VIDEO] “You are wasting people’s precious time,” Tunji-Ojo slams passport delays during surprise visit to NIS office
Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, on Tuesday carried out an unscheduled inspection of the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) passport office in Gwagwalada, Abuja, where he criticised delays in passport processing and warned applicants against making unofficial payments.
During the visit, the minister inspected operations at the VIP and Children section and questioned officials on why applicants were still waiting long after the office was scheduled to commence activities.
Tunji-Ojo also interacted with applicants, urging them not to pay any money outside approved charges, stressing that Nigerians had already fully paid for passport services.
“I don’t want to hear that you are collecting money for diesel or paper.
“Nigerians have paid for their passports completely. Serve them diligently,” the Minister said.
He expressed dissatisfaction that only a handful of applicants had been attended to several hours after opening time, despite the section being designated for fast-tracked services.
“So it means that by 9:30am, I expect to see at least one or two applicants here. Because I can see some people waiting downstairs, and our responsibility is to be efficient,” the minister said.
Tunji-Ojo questioned officials on the speed of enrolment and biometric capturing, noting that each applicant should be processed within minutes.
“How long does it take to do an enrolment? Three minutes. So three times seven, that is twenty-one minutes,” he said.
Immigration officers explained that although the office was expected to open by 8am, activities only began around 9am after the generator was powered.
“We are supposed to open by eight,” an official said, adding that electricity was restored after applicants had already arrived.
The minister faulted the practice of completing enrolment for all applicants before starting biometric capturing, insisting both processes should run simultaneously to minimise delays.
“It doesn’t make sense to me. People are there waiting.
“Some of these people still need to go to work. Some of these people have other things to do,” Tunji-Ojo added. “So why must you wait until you enrol everybody before you do capturing?,” the minister said.
He described the situation as unacceptable, stressing that such delays undermined effective service delivery.
“It’s not just good enough to serve people, you just serve people well and diligently.”
He further stated, “You are wasting people’s precious time. Time is money. Time is expensive. It is unacceptable.”
Tunji-Ojo also criticised the poor utilisation of the VIP and Children section, noting that applicants in other sections could have been redirected to reduce congestion.
“It will not cost you anything if you use this place for them,” he said.
The minister reiterated that passport offices must uphold efficiency and fairness in service delivery.
“When you wear this uniform, you wear a uniform of sacrifice. When you wear this uniform, you wear a uniform of service. You are here to work for the people. I’m not impressed with this because I can’t get here and not see people,” he said.
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