“Stop Wasting People’s Time” — Interior Minister Slams Passport Officials in Surprise Visit

⏱️ Time is money, and the Interior Minister made that crystal clear! ⏱️

The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, paid an unannounced visit to the Nigerian Immigration Service passport office in Gwagwalada, Abuja on Tuesday, January 20, and he did not hold back.

Inspecting the VIP and Children sections, Tunji-Ojo condemned long delays in passport processing and warned applicants not to pay money outside official fees. “I don’t want to hear that you are collecting money for diesel or paper. Nigerians have paid for their passports completely. Serve them diligently,” he said.

He expressed frustration that only a few applicants had been attended to hours after opening, despite the office being designated for expedited service. “So it means that by 9:30am, I expect to see at least one or two applicants here…our responsibility is to be efficient,” he stressed.

The minister also questioned the pace of enrolment and biometric capturing, insisting each applicant should be processed within minutes. “How long does it take to do an enrolment? Three minutes. So three times seven, that is twenty-one minutes,” he said, highlighting inefficiencies in operations.

Officials admitted the office opened late due to generator issues, starting operations around 9am instead of the scheduled 8am. Tunji-Ojo criticised the practice of completing enrolment for all applicants before beginning biometric capturing, saying: “It doesn’t make sense. People are waiting. Some need to go to work. Time is precious. Time is money. It is unacceptable.”

He also noted the under-utilisation of the VIP and Children section, suggesting applicants from congested areas be redirected there at no extra cost.

The minister closed the visit with a stern reminder: “Nigeria has no VIP. When you wear this uniform, you wear a uniform of sacrifice. You are here to work for the people.”

For Tunji-Ojo, passport offices are not a waiting game — they are a service, and every minute wasted is money lost.