The Comptroller General of the Nigeria Immigration Service, Muhammad Babandede, has announced the postponement of new passport applications by one week.
The new date will now be June 8, 2021 instead of 1 June.
According to a statement on Tuesday by the Service’s Public Relations Officer, Amos Okpu, titled ‘Clearance of backlog of passport applications,’ Babandede was quoted as making the announcement at the NIS headquarters in Abuja during a media chat.
The statement read in part, “A huge number of applicants are already turning up to collect their passports across issuing centres and this is causing some forms of congestion.
“This situation will not allow the Service to accommodate new applications especially considering our desire to ensure that people who come to our offices comply with all the COVID-19 protocols.
“Consequent upon the above, the Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, has extended the commencement of the new passport regime earlier scheduled for June 1, 2021 by one week till June 8, 2021.
