Immigration opens Passport Front Office in Aregbesola’s constituency, Alimosho

The Nigeria Immigration Service has inaugurated a Passport Front Desk Office in the Alomosho area Lagos State.

This, according to the Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, is part of the effort to make passport administration a seamless exercise for Nigerians.

Alimosho is Aregbesola’s constituency and has been returning a large number of votes for the All Progressives Congress.

Aregbesola at the inauguration of the Nigeria Immigration Service Front Desk Office in Alimosho, Lagos State, on Monday said that the development would ease the pressure on the three existing Passport Control Offices in Lagos.

He said, “We are also committed to expanding our Passport Issuance operations to bridge the shortage gap we face usually in urban centres like Lagos. It is this need that gave birth to the Alimosho Front Desk Office to ease the ever-increasing pressure on the three existing Passport Control Offices domiciled in Lagos.

“Applications have been increasing every year at unprecedented rate, due to the tendency of many Nigerians wanting to travel outside the country and those who want to use it as means of identification.

“Then there is ‘panic buying’ effect from those who wanted to obtain the passport because they heard some people (who probably went through touts) had difficulty obtaining theirs.

“But we have increased our capacity. Last year (2022), we produced 1.9 million passports, against the 1 million produced in 2021. This is about 80 per cent increase and it is unprecedented”.

The Interior Minister however explained that the Alimosho Office is mainly for passport application and collection of biometric data, and eventual issuance, and not for passport production.

Ogbeni Aregbesola also stressed the inevitability of the emergence of private partners to provide spaces for more front offices in Lagos, due to the funding challenge faced by the government, saying such would reduce the application waiting period to one week.

Earlier, Aregbesola inaugurated the Nigeria Immigration Service Command headquarters for Lagos at Ikoyi.

The Comptroller General of the Nigeria Immigration Service, Isah Idris, at the command’s inauguration promised that the Service would continue to render quality and efficient service to Nigerians.

“There are lots of publications, signage and sensitization materials on the procedure of acquiring the Nigeria e-passport. Avail yourselves of these information targeted at reducing interference of anyone in the process of applying for the said facility. This is aimed at eliminating touting, extortion and other vices,” Jere said.