The Comptroller General of Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Mr. Muhammad Babandede says it is linking data from the new 10-year validity electronic international passport to Bank Verification Numbers (BVN) of holders.According to him,this is with a view to synchronising the country’s identity management as well as assist anti-graft agencies in their fight against corruption.
Babandede, who addressing officers and men of all the NIS’ formations under Zone A, Lagos at the weekend, lamented the corruption and sharp practices among officers of the NIS, especially the extortion of applicants, saying serious measures were taken to curb corruption by the agency and ease business transactions with the public.
“We are rolling out the new 10- year validity e-passport, and one thing we have done is to link it with the BVN and National Identity Management (NIM) numbers of holders,” said Babandede.
“The public is therefore advised to have one identity; one BVN number, one NIM number, and the same name and numbers must appear in all these data. We have done a lot to automate our systems. Businesses must be made easy and transparent without bottlenecks and difficulties. By this, we will not issue any passport to anyone whose data doesn’t correspond to the BVN and NIM numbers,” he added. .
Babandede said the Immigration Service was committed to assisting the government achieve its Executive Order on Ease of Doing Business and that the new passport targeted businessmen and women who travel very often for trade and commerce and who found the five-year validity passport as too short in duration of its expiry and also inconvenient to their business pursuit.
The Immigration boss, however, urged its personnel aiding and abetting of foreigners to secure Nigerian passports and to illegally extend their work permits to desist from the act.
According to him, defaulting officers, once caught, would be prosecuted and risk spending 10 years behind bars.
Babandede who said the new 10-year 64 pages validity electronic passports would cost about N70,000 however explained that children under 18 years of age would not be allowed to apply for the passport nor issued with one.
Babandede explained that the rapid changes in the facial and physical features of children made it imperative to limit them to passports with 5-year validity given the danger with their growing up with features no longer similar and recognisable at Immigration entry points at home or abroad under a span of 10years.
Babandede also called on Officers and Men to comply with the Executive Order 01 on Transparency and Ease of Doing Business, stating that NIS, as an elite Service must contribute its quota to the economic development of the country through facilitation of corrupt-free atmosphere for Direct Foreign Investment (DFI).
“Officers must change their attitude towards service delivery as President Muhmmadu Buhari’s Government has provided enabling environment for the Service to discharge its responsibilities without let or hindrance,” he said.
He also encouraged officers and men to take advantage of facilities provided by the Service to build their capacity, especially on ICT, saying the Service will soon start conducting e-based promotion exercise.
Source: Nigerian NewsDirect
