Doris Ferdinand
The House of Representatives on Thursday has issued a 72 hour ultimatum to the Nigeria Immigration Service to begin the issuance of International Passports to thousands of Nigerians who have applied, paid, and have been captured their International Passport Booklets
In a motion moved by Hon Ugonna Ozurigbo representing Isu/Njaba/Nwangele Federal Constituency, Imo State, the lawmaker decried the persistent scarcity of passport booklets at most Nigeria Immigration Service offices and some of the nation’s foreign embassies.
Hon Ugonna who expressed concern over underserved delay in processing the passport said:
“Most Nigerians who have applied for International Passports and fulfilled all the
requirements are constrained to wait endlessly for their International Passports, which ordinarily takes less than 48 hours to be issued, a situation that is causing untold hardship on Nigerians with urgent needs
to travel out of the country.
He also noted that “Nigerians who are on medical referrals outside the country are developing needless health complications while waiting for their Passports to be issued.
“Those for urgent business trips, conferences, etc. have missed rewarding business opportunities due to the unavailability of passport booklets to enable them to travel. He added.
Ugonnna reiterated that access to International Passport is one of the rights enjoyed by citizens all over the world, and in other countries, International Passports are obtained with ease as they are issued immediately upon application and therefore Nigerians should not be made to suffer before their rights are given to them.
The motion was adopted and refferred to the appropriate committee for further legislative action after it was subjected to voice vote.
