![Passport Applicants Patronise Touts To Get Faster Services – Aregbesola](https://www.informationng.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/nigerian-government-declares-thursday-public-holiday-for-eidul-mawlid-celebration-600x306.jpg)
Rauf Aregbesola, the Minister of Interior, has opened a new upgraded e-passport production center in Ibadan, the capital of Oyo State.
Nigerians should quit patronizing touts and instead use online applications, according to the ministry.
He guaranteed stakeholders that new applicants will receive their passports in six weeks or less, and that renewals would take no more than three weeks.
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According to Aregbesola, the Federal Government has taken steps to ensure that holders of Nigerian passports are indeed Nigerians.
He said, “Part of the reforms is the migration of passport applications and payments to digital platforms. But we regret to observe that applicants still patronise touts and unscrupulous officials in the hope to beat the system and get expedited services. When they were disappointed, they come to report to us.
“Of course, we have zero tolerance for corruption and subversion of due process. We, therefore, take seriously any such report and invoke the necessary disciplinary measures.
“But I will implore applicants to stop patronising touts and our officials directly. Follow the process we put in place. Apply for passports and pay online.
“The only engagement with our staff is the enrolment of your biometrics. Patronising touts and passport office officials doesn’t always end well, but rather serves to defeat our purpose of eliminating corruption and infusing integrity to the passport administration process.”