The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) on Thursday announced the rollout of an enhanced passport tracking feature as part of mechanisms to ensure transparency and accountability in passport acquisition in and outside the country.
The tracking feature is aimed at checking details regarding its production and reducing any form of sharp practices in the application processes
The Comptroller-General of the NIS, Mrs Kemi Nanna Nandap, had warned personnel of the Service against any form of sharp practices or corruption-related misdemeanours at a recent Conference on anti-corruption at the headquarters of the Service in Abuja.
She said the NIS would leave no stone on unturned to ensure that the on-going reforms in the Service was carried out successfully, while all the gadgets installed across the country for seamless experience function optimally.
However, the update, posted by the Service on one of it social media platforms was as a result of rising complaints over delays in passport issuance and collection.
The Service said it had observed that hundreds of passports produced had remained uncollected, leading to increasing complaints from applicants.
The updated system now introduces a new status—“Produced (Passports Produced, Ready For Collection)”—to the existing passport tracker.
Our correspondent gathered that the feature is intended to give applicants clearer visibility on when their passports are ready for pickup, or to be delivered through courier Service, thereby reducing uncertainty around processing timelines.
It was learnt that the tracking feature was part of reforms to eliminate deliberate bottlenecks within the system and reduce public outcry over delays in acquisition of the documents.
Sources within the Service assured that the new tracker status would help applicants distinguish between production delays and passports that are ready for collection, but yet to be retrieved.
Source: thenation
