Muslim group commends Immigration on issuance of e-passport

AN organisation known as Voice of Muslims for Peace has commended the Kano State passport office of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) for removing what it called the bureaucratic bottlenecks associated with the issuance of international e-passport to applicants.

The chairman of the organisation, Alhaji Shehu Ibrahim, told the Nigerian Tribune that the measure by the passport office, which is located in the city of Kano, paved the way for the smooth preparation of many pilgrims for this year’s hajj as they were able to obtain their e-passports just within 24 hours of applying for the important document.

He also noted that the improvement in the e-passport issuance would go a long way in safeguarding applicants from falling prey to swindlers.

According to Alhaji Ibrahim, it used to be frustrating for applicants who had to wait a long time before getting their e-passports, but with the enhancement of the process of obtaining the document, the era of touts taking advantage of applicants’ vexation is gone.

He described the ability of the Kano office to quickly process applications and promptly issue Nigerians with passports as one of the commendable achievements recorded by the NIS in recent time.

A visit to the Kano passport office by the Nigerian Tribune revealed that the new leadership has introduced various innovations that have made e-passport issuance less difficult.

A court registry and a bank representative were seen stationed at the passport office to make it easy for applicants to complete the requirements in time.

The waiting section of the office, it was also observed, has been renovated.

It was gathered that constant supply of booklets from the head office had aided the achievement recorded by the Kano office in its ease of doing business.