Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola has disclosed that a total of 1,350,000 passport booklets were printed and distributed by the federal government in 2021.
He said this is almost double of the output achieved in 2020.
The Minister made the disclosure at a Lagos Business School Forum themed ” Nigeria in Challenging Times: The Contributions of the Ministry of Interior and Opportunities for Private Sector Participation,” held on Thursday.
The virtual event is part of LBS Public Sector Engagement designed to promote more public-private sector dialogue and partnership to enhance Nigeria’s inclusive and sustainable economic growth and development.
Providing an update on passports issued to date, Aregbesola said: “1,350,000 passport booklets were produced and distributed worldwide as at December 31st 2021, against 764,293 booklets in 2020.” The minister said there is increasing demand for passports which is mounting pressure on processing structure and resources.
He said the ministry is aware of challenges faced by applicants and is working tirelessly to alleviate them.
He stated that the ongoing passport reforms across the different passport offices in the federation will be a continuous process until all Nigerians can seamlessly and effortlessly apply and get their passports.
“The current experience will soon be a thing of the past. We are working very hard to reform the passport application and issuance process. This reform is going to be a continuous process. We want to significantly enhance the integrity of the Nigerian Passport by ensuring that non-Nigerians are not able to obtain it. We also want to bring passport service closer to the people as much as possible and eliminate touting and corruption in the process.”
He added that the ministry is working to identify unscrupulous elements within the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) and has initiated a whistleblowing and mystery shopping process to catch such officers unawares.
He also stated that the Nigeria Visa Policy launched in 2020 has expanded the visa category from 6 to 79 and simplified the application process. He said the policy is leading to the adoption of best practices and ensuring that Visas are granted to fit the main purpose of travel.
Speaking on recent attacks on correctional facilities in the country, he said the ministry is doing everything possible to arrest escapees and will soon launch a Taskforce for this purpose. “To make this initiative more comprehensive, broad and global, we shall soon inaugurate a Ministerial Taskforce specifically for the rearrest of escapees.
“The composition of the taskforce is inter-ministerial, inter-security agencies and include Civil Society Organisations, Police-Community Relations Organisations and other stakeholders that can help track and rearrest the escapees and their collaborators,” he said. He noted that in the light of the attacks, all correctional centers have been “designated as critical national assets”.
As part of effort to decongest correctional facilities and prepare inmates for reintegration into the society, Aregbesola said the ministry has commenced construction of modern, 3,000 capacity custodial villages with skill acquisition and behavioural modifications centres in each of the six geopolitical zones.
“We have commenced the construction of 3,000 modern capacity custodial centres in each of the 6 geopolitical zones. This is a total of 18,000 capacity. Construction is almost at completion stages: 85% completion in Janguza, Kano State; 65% in Karshi, FCT and 40% in Bori, Rivers State. This would decongest the custodial centers, ensure good living conditions for inmates, and support the implementation of the NCoS Act 2019 with the goal of rehabilitating, reformation, and reintegration of inmates,” he said.
The minister also said the ministry is open to suggestions, collaboration and ideas from private organisations on how to make Nigerian correctional centers more secure and conducive for inmates. He said: “Custodial farm centers are being reactivated for mass agricultural production. We have entered a PPP arrangement for establishment of a N5 billion shoe and garment making factories in Kano and Abia States respectively. There are other initiatives in progress to expose inmates to training in auto repair, electronics, etc through PPP arrangements. We still need the capacity to turn our custodial centers to skill acquisition and enterprise centers. We are open to partnership with the private sector in these areas.”
He noted that while opportunities are open for private support and collaboration, the laws of the country do not allow for privatisation of the running of correctional facilities.
