Nigeria Minister of Interior Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo
Nigeria Minister of Interior Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo say by 1 June, 2024 all tins being equal, Nigerians go fit get dia passport delivered to dem for dia house.
Di minister tok dis one during one exclusive interview with BBC Pidgin, say dem dey also work on reforms to make passport renewal process as contactless as possible.
"For courier delivery, all tins being equal, we dey look at starting dat by 1st of June, in terms of courier option and pipo go pay for di courier service, e no go be free.
But for di contactless process na for renewal purpose. Fresh applicants go need to go office for capturing and registration.
For renewal we dey look wetin dey happun for oda kontries, wia contactless biometric capturing dey happun. Once e match di biometrics we get for our database since biometrics no dey change, once e align we fit go ahead to renew your passport.
Tunji-Ojo also say di process of getting di Nigerian passport wey be sometin wey bin dey also stress pipo for diaspora, some wey go need to travel long distance just to get di passport na sometin wey don also improve.
"For London already, pipo don dey wait to get dia passports in two days. three days and we don start to dey do home delivery for UK, we dey do self-address for US.
Di only problem we still get for diaspora na appointment, di time e take to get appointment becos dat one still be physical tin and e get capacity, amount we fit take in a day.
Di minister as e resume office bin promise automation of di process to apply for passport for di kontri so dat pipo no go dey wait and suffer too long to get di green book as e bin dey happun in di past.
Prior to im assumption of office, to renew your passport for Nigeria fit take pesin months wit plenty stress but all dat stress don reduce now as di process don dey automated and waiting time don dey reduced to weeks.
But di minister say e no end dia.
"Realistically we dey target two weeks (to renew and get your passport) but for some places, e still dey take like three weeks but for me, wit di reforms wey we dey bring onboard in di next couple of weeks, even di two weeks go dey too long, so we dey look at one week." E tok.
Di minister also confam tori say to change name ontop passport na sometin pesin fit do from anywia for di kontri now compared to bifoe wey na for only Abuja pesin go fit go do a name change on dia passport.
Dis one bin affect married women well-well wey go wan change dia name after dem marry and also oda women and pipo for different oda reasons.
"No be just woman mata. We don already do am, any change of name now you fit do am anywia except na adoption and some changes wey dey legally inclined."
Asides from immigration issues, di minister also touch on oda mata dem and recent tori wey concern some activities for di kontri correctional facilities.
Addressing one viral tori say prison officials storm prison for kirikiri, Lagos state to rob inmates of dia valuables including money, di minister say truth no dey dat tori at all as na routine exercise officials bin go for.
"E no dey possible. Di way we dey use social media for Nigeria now. In di first place why prisoner go carry phone, why inmate go carry dis tins, dem no dey accepted. We get report of activities for some correctional centres and we set up a task team, a task force to act.
We set up taskforce to go to not just dat place, to seize dis tins and di report of di whole exercise all over Nigeria go dey my table by tomorrow."
On di issue of jail breaks and attacks, di minister say Tinubu administration dey committed in improving, renovating and relocating prisons to make tins better dan how dem meet dem.
"Yes we get jail attacks bifor I become minister, di only one we don get since I come in na jail break. Di jail break wey happun here na force majeure and of course no be say di goment no dey try, no forget say di correctional centres dey old.
Di one wey collapse becos of rain and storm dem build am for 1914.
Di minister say Nigeria get 256 correctional centres, "Tinubu no become president 110 years ago, e become president a year ago, and as I dey tok to you we don renovate 10, we dey on about 8 or 9, wia di money to fix 256 at di same time".
As for di inmates, we don get some of dem back and security agencies dey work on am." E tok.
