Chairman and members of the Commitee at the event. Photo: Shehu Ibrahim/Radio Nigeria
The House of Representatives has commenced investigation into the proposed domestication and processing of the Nigeria International Passports.
The Chairman of the Committee, Mr. Hafiz Kawu, said that the investigative hearing followed a resolution of the House to investigate a company, IRIS Technology Limited that was awarded a contract to produce twenty million booklets of the passports.
Mr. Kawu said the investigation was to unravel the root cause of the scarcity of passport booklets in Nigeria.
In a remark, the Comptroller General of Immigration, Mr. Idris Jere, who said that to bridge the booklet gap, zonal offices were created across Nigeria and abroad, explained that the scarcity of passport booklets was as a result of scarcity of forex.
He said the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) would welcome any suggestions that will end the issue of passport booklets scarcity.
Responding, the Managing Director of IRIS Technology Limited, Mr. Yinka Fisher told the committee that the company was given the contract to produce twenty million booklets and has produced six million so far.
He alleged that the Nigeria Security and Mint and the Central Bank of Nigeria were sabotaging the company’s effort leading to scarcity of passport booklets.
For the Minister of Interior, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola, the issue surrounding passports are security issues and should be treated accordingly.
Reporting by Ibrahim Shehu; Editing by Fany Olumoye