Passport Shortage: Nigeria Immigration service adjusts working days, closing time for Nigerians

The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has directed passport offices around the country to open on Saturday in order to clear the backlog of passport applications.

This is according to a statement issued by the Service's Public Relations Officer, Mr Tony Akuneme, on Saturday, 26 November 2022, in Abuja.

According to Akuneme, the Comptroller-General, Mr Isa Jere, who issued the instruction.

He also revealed that the immigration boss also authorized the relocation of the Passport Controller in Ekiti to Jigawa, while the one in Ondo was relocated to the NIS Zonal office in Ibadan.

The Vanguard reports that Akuneme also stated that going forward, the CG will hold passport officers accountable for any acts of indiscipline by officers under their watch He added that the directive enabled the Service to reduce the backlog occasioned by the 2020 and 2021 prolonged lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The statement from NIS spokesman reads: “The C-G has directed that Passport offices across the country with high volume of pending applications to work on Saturdays.

“The period for this exercise is expected to be every Saturday commenncing from Dec. 3, 2022 to Jan. 28, 2023 between the period of 10 am to 2 pm. “This is to enhance our service delivery to out esteemed clients.

“The Saturday proceding the Christmas and New Year holidays are exempted."