Comptroller-General of Immigration, Muhammad Babandede, has given Passport Control Officers nationwide 48 hoursto clear all backlog of passport applications.

The order, given on Monday, also include all Passport Issuing Desks in Nigeria’s Foreign Missions.

Babandede said failure to comply with the directive would be interpreted to mean the passport officers were incompetent and will therefore be removed.

He warned all passport offices to ensure that processing of passport does not exceed 72 hours as stipulated by the service policy.

He called on Passport applicants to always get their breeder documents such as birth certificate, age declaration, certified guarantor’s forms from the right sources to avoid delay in the processing of their Passports.

In a related development, the CGI said he has inaugurated a Committee comprising the Assistant Comptroller-General of Immigration (Passports), Ndubisi Ndife and NIS Technical Partners, Messrs Iris Technologies Ltd and NewWorks Ltd to re-configure the NIS Passport platform in order to enable State Passport offices re-issue Passports to applicants who want to change their data on account of marriage or due to loss of previous ones.

With this development, such category of applicants need not travel to Abuja to effect any change in their travel documents but go to the Passport offices in the States they reside to do it. Presently, women who wish to change their data such as name due to marriage are required to travel to the Service Headquarters in Abuja to effect those changes, which sometimes take up to three days.