Federal Government has advised Nigerians applying for the International passport travel document to ensure that data provided on their National Identity Number (NIN) is in tandem with obtained with that contained in the application forms submitted.
This is also as the Federal Government, announced the introduction of the tracking mechanism to help international passport applicants monitor the progress of their applications.
According to the Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, this problem of delay in completing the processing is largely responsible for the hardships experienced by passport applicants in obtaining the travel documents.
It would be recalled that many passport applicants have complained of scarcity of passport booklets as reason given to them by officials of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) for the delays and difficulty in obtaining the document.
However, commenting on the delays via his verified Twitter handle, Ogbeni Aregbesola said instead that discrepancies in data supplied by applicants in NIN and applications forms were reasons for the delays.
The minister also noted in the post that many passport applicants are having serious challenges on how to arrange their names.
“It is important also that your details with NIN sync with the data on your application.
“Any discrepancy will stall your application until it is corrected. The order of the appearance of the applicant’s name, especially, has been an albatross for many,” he wrote.
Continuing, the minister also disclosed that his ministry has introduced an online tracking mechanism where applicants can monitor the various stages of processing of their applications before issuance.