The House of Representatives has resolved to investigate the alleged passport racketeering, extortion and cash collection at the offices of the Nigerian Immigration Service, against the Treasury Single Account policy of the Federal Government.
The House passed the resolution a unanimous adoption of a motion moved by Chinedu Ogah, titled ‘Need to Investigate the Alleged Extortion, Passport Racketeering and Corrupt Practices by the Nigeria Immigration Service.’
Moving the motion, Ogah noted that the NIS is the agency responsible for the production and issuance of the Nigerian passport, adding that the current price for the new standard passport with 32 pages is N25, 000 while the 64-booklet passport costs N35, 000, and both have a five-year validity period.
He, however, said, “The House is concerned that there have been several reports of alleged extortion of Nigerians seeking to acquire passports by personnel of the Nigeria Immigration Service.
Unsuspecting members of the public are made to pay as high as N50,000 to immigration officers with a promise to fast track processing of their passport.
“The House is aware that the policy of Treasury Single Account, developed by the International Monetary Fund, was fully implemented by President Muhammad Buhari in 2015 to promote accountability and transparency in public administration, hence ministries, departments and agencies and government-owned enterprises were directed to transfer all financial assets from commercial banks to a consolidated revenue fund domiciled in the Central Bank of Nigeria.
“The House is disturbed that in spite of the inestimable success of the policy, officers of a revenue-generating agency such as the NIS are plagued by the sinister desire to subvert the policy with the ultimate goal of fattening their pockets, thus impeding the drive for a better Nigeria.
The collection of cash by immigration personnel, instead of payment through Remita, which is the official TSA payment channel, is in gross violation of the policy of the Federal Government.
“The House is worried that as a result of the unscrupulous activities of officers of the NIS at the various passport offices nationwide, well-meaning Nigerians are being denied legitimate access to the services of the agency and the country is being bled of millions of revenue through corrupt personnel.”
Ogah also expressed concerns over the rising trend of passport racketeering, saying it would expose the country to foreign criminals who may take advantage of the corrupt practices to acquire Nigerian passports and commit crimes that could tarnish the country’s image.
“The House is cognisant of the need to discourage corruption in any form by ensuring that errant officers and their cronies are made to face the full wrath of the law,” the lawmaker stated.
Adopting the motion, the House mandated the Committee on Interior to investigate the alleged passport racketeering and other corrupt practices at the offices of the NIS, with a view to bringing the culprits to book.
The House also urged the Federal Government to ensure that all payments to the NIS are done through the appropriate TSA channel “and anyone violating the terms of the policy is made to face the full wrath of the law.”
