Federal government unveils e-passport centre in Oyo

The federal government, yesterday, unveiled an e-passport production centre in Oyo state as part of efforts to facilitate the application process.

In his address at the launch of the centre yesterday, Rauf Aregbesola, minister of interior, said the new development will help to ease the stress of passport application and renewal.

“Part of the reforms is the migration of passport application 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,” he said.

“When they are 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.”