New Telegraph

Obtaining International Passport with tears

The Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola recently released new guidelines for  obtaining Nigeria’s international Passport. In this report, OLUWATOSIN OMONIYI, writes that  the Minister’s directive is observed in the breech by Immigration officers, who rather prefer  the old ways of using touts and agents to fleece desiring Nigerians

 

When the Federal Government announced a new and simpler method of application for International passports, e-passport, most Nigerians heaved sign of reliefs, believing the end to tout-exploitation and other difficulties experienced in obtaining International passports have come to an end.

 

Well, it is not as easy as the Federal Government had portrayed, as most Nigerians still groan at the new online process of applying for passports. Simply put, the situation has hardly changed.

 

According to the people Sunday Telegraph spoke to, they didn’t have too pleasant stories to tell. They described their experiences as too challenging, complained of all kinds of delay tactics deployed in e-passport application, thereby making it inevitable for passport seekers to engage the services of ‘agents’ to speed up the process but to their profit and exploitation of the applicants.

 

Sunday Telegraph found out that by this process, many passport applicants have fallen into the hands of passport touts, who rob people of their money. A passport seeker, Chukwudi Nwabudike told Sunday Telegraph that he tried twice to log into the portal. It was just impossible for him to log in and he was in urgent need of renewal of his passport.

 

And when it eventually opened, he printed the necessary page and took it to the passport office but he observed that the printed application paper was treated with disdain. “I observed the way the immigration officer treated the paper. He threw it lackadaisically to one side of the table that was filled with piled up files. Right there and then, I knew it wasn’t going to fly,” he concluded.

 

He however got his passport within a week after approaching an officer who negotiated with him at N45,000 for a 32 page booklet. “I captured the day I paid the N45,000 and within a week, I got passport. I realised that the e-passport is just a mere lip-service policy,” he said.

 

Sunday Telegraph met with Richard Odunayo, 28, who looked worn out, tired and dejected, sitting among the crowd at Alausa passport office. He said: “I spent so many hours on the queue waiting for collection. I have been here since morning 10.35am till now 3.38pm waiting to collect my passport and it is the Immigration office that sent me a text message saying it is ready for collection.”

 

He added that, “most people know that to acquire a Nigerian international passport, you have to know a top immigration officer and most times, it has always been a bad experience. In conclusion, I suggest that government should set up a high-powered mechanism to monitor everything going on in our immigration office and to make passport collection much easier through e-passport.”

 

One Olayinka Daramola, on a social media stated that when he went to secure his passport, an immigration officer approached him. “I told him I am here to secure a passport. He explained to me the procedure, official and non-official. Official costs less and takes weeks while non-official can come the same day.

 

So, I negotiated my price with him and I sat with other people at a place meant for applicants. In less than an hour, my name was called by one of the officials.

 

As I approached him, they took my file. I was interviewed in Yoruba and next, I went to have my data captured as well as take the picture. At about 3pm that same day, I got my passport. I feel procuring a Nigerian passport requires a lot of patience and connection with an immigration officer.”

 

But Daramola refused to state the amount he actually paid to achieve the one-day magic of getting his passport. Another applicant, Sherifat Adekola, stated that it was really a bad experience for her. She said she applied and captured for renewal first week of April last year but yet to receive it. “I was called last week that I could come and collect it but my sister-in-law, who went there to pick hers at Ikoyi could not collect it because of one complaint or the other.

 

At first, it was unavailability of booklet. Subsequently, they complained about overlap in the numbers of  people that have captured over months,” she said.

Sunday Telegraph also gathered from the people spoken to that the Server does not work efficiently as that has become the consistent excuse they (applicants) normally get from officials. Some of them argued that the portal link was just introduced but it won’t be efficient as that would mean that the touts would be out of jobs.

Last week Thursday, when Sunday Telegraph visited one of the centres, Alausa Passport office precisely, there was a mammoth crowd waiting under the canopy set up within the premises. Majority of them were for collection of their ready passports but groaned that the process of collection is frustratingly slow, a process that makes it impossible for them to do any other thing or go elsewhere for the day.

While some others sitting there complained that they were unable to apply through the designated portal, hence, their being there for proper direction and correct portal link to use.

 

However, there were many touts hanging around the premises, making themselves available for applicants, who are not so knowledgeable as to how to go about the new process of application and not ready to go through the tedious process.

Upon inquiry about the new portal link, Sunday Telegraph met with one O.O. Taiwo at the information desk inside the centre, who said if the portal link was not opening, it could be because of the Server from Abuja that was down for a while, (as at the time of filling this report) but believed that it would soon come up for applicants.

He further directed that Sunday Telegraph meet with one Mr. Charles inside the office. Mr. Charles opened the portal on his laptop and confirmed that the portal link was opening, so long it is the correct link.

Also, according to an insider source, the eportal link can never be as smooth as the usual going through someone (immigration officer) to help quicken the process.

Although, the portal link is meant to make application faster and smoother, it can never work because, it only means that those earning their living will be put out of business…. “it just would not work that way,” he said.

 

He explained further that if an applicant applies through the portal link, the applicant should be ready to wait for a longer period, between two and four months while the usual method otherwise known as touting has been updated to work faster and smoother.

“The people to work on the application would not touch it knowing that no personal profit for them in it. But the new policy now is that, once an applicant pays at the bank, the receipt comes with appointment date which comes two weeks after. Then, we tell applicants to come capture. So, with whoever is involved, the collection could be within a few weeks.

 

And if it is urgent, we tell the applicant to make payment for fast tracking. Although, collection of passports varies, depending on who is involved or the officer handling it, the online link is just a waste of time. It takes time to get the application treated and in some cases, it may not even be touched at all, meaning that the applicant will start all over after much time wasted. Yes, the system is that corrupt and that is the way the Nigeria government wants it,” he said.

 

Another inside source explained that the online application is just a showmanship that government is actually working. “No, it’s not working at all and not likely to work”! She added that everyone in immigration is guilty of the ‘corrupt practices’ but it is whoever that is caught that is a corrupt official.

 

“We all have our representatives ‘whom you outsiders call touts’, working for us. Truly, there are the good ones and the bad ones but the genuine ones help to ease the stress of passport application. You only need to work inside for you to understand the way it works” she said. She explained that those regarded as touts are not so but assistants to the officers.

 

According to her, the ‘tout-assistants’ also have their own contacts and help them greatly in facilitating passports applications. “Without those guys out there helping out, majority would have been on long queue of passport application,” she said.

Another officer, who spoke to Sunday Telegraph, explained that, till year 2027, there would still be shortage of booklets for passport and that is what encourages what most people term as ‘touting’. He explained that because there is not much availability of booklets; that makes room for disparity in price and hoarding for those who can afford the price. And that is where touting comes in.

“They are the ones who go to look for those who are willing to pay the price. And there is no cheating whatsoever involved. It is a pure transparent process,” he said.

He revealed that the former Nigeria President Olusegun Obasanjo’s regime had signed a deal that will last till 2027 with a Malaysian company for production of the passport booklets. “Until then, Nigerians will continue to expe  rience hitches on passport application either online or the usual way,” he declared.

He explained that, should Nigerian government cancel the business deal with Malaysian government, it will amount to short deal for the Nigerian government, hence, the system is stuck till the agreement outlives its span.

He revealed further that all officials are involved in the shenanigans of passport applications, saying that they all have the so called ‘touts’ working for them too. “But, as the popular adage puts it, thou should not be caught……. that is what is happening in the Immigration system,” he said.

 

New immigration policy on Nigeria’s international passport

 

Recently, the Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, unveiled a new policy of the government that should make acquisition of an international passport easy and at no inflated rate.

 

He noted that the decision was informed by feedback received directly from members of the public, who complained about involvement of touts in the business of passport issuance and who make the process tedious and acquisition difficult at an unbearable cost.

Until the announcement of the new policy, a 32-page passport of five years duration cost N45,000 while a 64-page passport cost N70,000, also for five years. And a 64-page passport for 10 years cost N105,000. In fact, Sunday Telegraph found out that the immigration officials are now encouraging Nigerians to rather go for the 10 years 64 pages passport as it saves time, energy and avoid frustrations associated with it.

To arrest the worrisome situation, the Minister said that passport processing has now been digitalised, same its payment.

International passport

 

The New enhanced e-Passport (Validity and Cost) and for three states, Lagos, Abuja and Rivers and applicable to all ages; – 32 pages valid 5 years is N26, 000; 64 pages valid 5 years is N35, 000 and 64 pages valid 10 years is N70, 000.

 

For the remaining 33 states, price is as follows; 32 pages valid for 5 years N17,800; 64 pages valid for 5 years N23,000; But for children less than 16 and adults 60 and above, they pay N11,000 for 32 pages which is valid for five years.

 

The new policy reads that you, “pay online, print your receipts and forms online and go with all your documents to their office.”

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