The Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo has called for the simplification of the process married women go through to change the data on their travel passports.
Tunji-Ojo at a recent dinner with members of the Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu ABAT Media Centre and some social media influencers in Abuja expressed displeasure at the numerous man-made difficulties Nigerians encounter when trying to change their passport data.
Speaking, he called it nothing but a “stupid practice” to subject Nigerians, especially married women to the rigours of travelling all the way down to the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) headquarters in Abuja just to effect a data change.
“There is one stupid thing I have seen and it is that a woman gets married, changes her name and then she has to come to Abuja all the way from say Kaura Namoda or Enugu just to come and effect a change of name in her passport. It is absurd,” Tunji-Ojo said.
“I can’t just figure out that you want to change just your name and you have to be in Abuja.
“I have asked the immigration people, is it that immigration people in Abuja have more than one head than those in the states?”
According to the Minister, there is nowhere in the world where women are subjected to such inhuman practices on account of marriage.
Meanwhile, the Federal Government has announced that it will begin automating the passport application process on Monday, January 8, 2024.
With that, Nigerians can apply and complete their passport application process online without human contact.
Tunji-Ojo made the announcement during a recent inspection of the NIS facilities alongside Comptroller General, Wura-Ola Adepoju.
He disclosed that the automated application system was “99% done,” adding that the process would include uploading passport photos and supporting documents.
