The Minister of Interior, Hon. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo has directed the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), to immediately deploy new printers to the passport offices in the Nigerian Consulate in Atlanta and New York, United States of America.

This is coming a few days after Vanguard Newspaper published a petition by a group of Nigerians in the Diaspora.

The petitioners had appealed to the minister to act after detailing challenges being faced by Nigerians in dire need of consular services in the two cities.

In response, Tunji-Ojo in a statement signed by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Alao Babatunde, acknowledged receipt of the petition while announcing his directive to the NIS.

The Minister’s response is reproduced below:

RE: NIGERIANS IN DIASPORA PETITION INTERIOR MINISTER OVER PRINTER CRISIS

The Minister of Interior, Hon. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, has acknowledged the receipt of a petition concerning an appeal for passport printers in Atlanta and New York Consulates in the United States of America.

To address this issue, the Minister has since approved and directed the Nigeria Immigration Service to immediately deploy new printers to the passport offices in both cities. These printers are ready for installation. This short-term solution aims to resolve the current challenge promptly.

The Minister hinted that there is a new solution being implemented as a long-term plan that will usher in a streamlined passport regime, enabling Nigerians to apply for their passports with more ease.

Part of this plan includes the activation of the Passport Personalisation Centre in Abuja, which is scheduled to start in the next few weeks while also opening up more countries for the already-deployed contactless solution.

The Ministry of Interior under the Minister is working round the clock, and none of the agencies is left behind. At the Nigeria Immigration Service, for instance, there has been an end-to-end automation of the passport application process and the introduction of the contactless application process, which has since been launched in Canada.

The Minister assures that the government of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu remains committed to ensuring that Nigerians experience #RenewedHope laced with innovation and convenience while still enhancing national security.