The Nigeria Immigration Service, NIS, has disclosed that it has commenced the process of the review of its charges of acquiring international travel passports, as it can no longer afford to produce the passports at the current charges.
Comptroller-General of the NIS, Mr. Muhammad Babandede disclosed this at the flagging off ceremony for the capacity building programme on Information Communication Technology, ICT, for Immigration officers, organized in conjunction with Huawei Technologies Company, in Abuja.
The ICT training programme, according to Managing Director, Abuja Office of Huawei Technologies, Mr. Tank Liteng, is carefully designed for 500 staff of the NIS for a period of five days in batches of 50 officers per training time at nine different locations across the country.
Liteng who said the training was part of the company’s corporate social responsibility, expressed optimism that it would empower officers of the NIS with appropriate ICT skills, awareness and soft skills that give competitive advantage globally to catch up with the world trends and change Nigeria into the ICT talents center in the region.
Expatiating on the planned hike the charges for the issuance of the Nigerian passport, Babandede, stated that the NIS had written to the Presidency on this issue, and as soon as it receives approval, it would proceed with the review, which would also enable it to deliver better services.
He warned that unless the prices are reviewed, its revenue to the country would be negatively affected adding “It is not easy for us to pay for booklets because of the cost. You will agree with me that air tickets have doubled in this country. You are aware that a lot of things have changed, but the passport fees have not changed.
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“We cannot to afford to service this passport with these current charges. We have written to government, as soon as we have approval we would be able to deliver better services. But I am telling you that currently, it is not sustainable. Not sustainable because the prices are not competitive.
“This passport booklet is not funded by government. It is a private-public partnership.
“The investment government has is me working, the labour, office provided. But in terms of cash, it is funded by private partnership. The government is not giving any money, but we are giving revenue to the government. If we continue this way, government would not get revenue.”
He noted that the review of prices for the passports would ensure that changes take place, improve efficiency in its service delivery, print more booklets and also ensure that its services are done within a stipulated time.
Babandede pointed out that despite the challenges of insufficient passport booklets, and the difficulties faced by many institutions in generating revenue, the NIS has already surpassed its revenue target for 2016.
“So far, the NIS has generated about N39 billion for the 2016 fiscal year, N6 billion above the amount generated in 2015”.
He added that the NIS has also surpassed its revenue in dollars, in terms of visas and passport issued.
The NIS boss explained that the current training with Huawei Technologies would make its officers ICT compliant, positioning them to take over its various databases and technology and own it.
“If our officers are well-trained we can be able to block leakages; we can be able to deliver service efficiently and the quicker you deliver these services, the better it is, in terms of revenue and service delivery. I hope it is a step forward, not only in service delivery but also in ownership of our databases.”
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