Video: Minister of Interior intervenes in passport application crisis amid London demonstration
The Honourable Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo has swiftly reacted to the ongoing protest by some Nigerians in London, the United Kingdom, over difficulties with passport applications.
In a post on X, formerly called Twitter, the Minister expressed concerns about the cause of the protest while declaring that he had ordered an immediate investigation into the matter.
The minister assured that corresponding actions will be taken as soon as possible to eliminate the root cause of the challenges.
He said, “My attention has been drawn to the complaints at the Nigerian Embassy in London regarding issues with passport applications. I have ordered an immediate investigation into the matters arising, and I assure you that corresponding actions will be taken soonest. We appreciate the patience and understanding of all affected citizens as we strive towards an efficient service delivery in line with global best practices.”
Despite the assurance, one of the concerned Nigerians, @welcome24eva, said “The backlogs yet return, it’s been over 6 weeks now and passport is yet to be ready at the @nigimmigration HQ in Abuja. I had bragged so much about the speed at which production was done, yet I stand disappointed now.”
@Estoba2 alleged that some staff are deliberately holding the citizens in the diaspora to ransome due to the recent innovations by the minister to revamp the passport renewal and collection processes. He said, “Hon. Minister pls u need to be aware that many of your staff are not happy with all d improvements you brought & are doing everything to frustrate it to go back to d old ways where they extort money from people. I did data capture 1st week in June @ ikoyi, till now, no passport.”
On her part, @UmmuAbdulhameed applauded the minister for the swift response. She said “What a leader. I hope the investigation would be speedy up and the perpetrators of this unacceptable act would be brought to book just like the officers nabbed here in Nigeria.”
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