Uyai-Abasi Etido
The comptroller-General of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Idris Jere has named the policies of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN as one of the reasons for the scarcity of passport booklets in the country.
Jere disclosed this during an adhoc committee of the House of Representatives investigating the production of pass booklets in Nigeria.
He noted that major components for producing booklets are sourced from overseas, hence the need for foreign exchange (forex) from the CBN, adding that lack of forex has affected the production of booklets.
In his words: “Foreign exchange regulation policy of the government and CBN’s refusal to grant access to forex for importation of the passport booklet…we generate forex from the sale of passport but we do not have access to buy the same booklet and that is a challenge for NIS.
“The factors responsible for the scarcity of passports include the inability to set up passport producing factory in Nigeria as its production is done abroad,” he said.
On the directive by the president that booklets should be produced by the Nigeria Security Printing and Minting PLC (NSPM), Jere recommended that a proper exit plan be put in place for a smooth handover from Irris Smart Tech to prevent any breach of contract and production process.
Speaking earlier, Yinker Fisher, the CEO of Irris Smart Technology Ltd, stated that forex is the major impediment to the production of booklets.
He also accused NSPM of sabotaging the effort of the company in the production of the booklets.
He also said that Many Nigerians, including those who live abroad, wait for months to get their passports after completing the application process.
