ODAHIEKWU OGUNDE, Yenagoa
The rigorous process of acquiring electronic passport (e-Passport) in Bayelsa State is now a thing of the past as the state Command of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has put in place some measures to ameliorate the challenges.
It was learnt that with the assumption of Mr Muhammad Ibrahim Zakiria as the Passport Control Officer (PCO) at the command in March 2022, the backlog of uncleared booklets had been cleared, making the applicants to be excited.
Prior to this time, the process of acquiring passport for international travels at the state command was beset with several torturous processes, a situation that left many applicants stranded at the immigration office for months.
It was gathered that Zakiria, who was posted from Lagos State to Bayelsa State, having served as Immigration Officer in different states, consulted widely with the staff on the ground in the command to achieve the current feat.
The PCO reportedly immediately identified the problems confronting the Passport Office and adopted measures for effective service delivery, a development that had significantly contributed to easing the rigorous process that existed in the past.
It was also gathered that the seasoned and astute public officer, who believes in dignity of labour and respect for Nigerians, irrespective of their tribe, creed, sex, religion believes that everybody should be treated equally and fairly.
A source within the command said that on Zakiria’s assumption of office, he discovered that there were a lot of backlogs of passport applications that were not processed hence many applicants were left with no option but to spend more time trying to apply for the travel document.
The source, who craved anonymity, said the situation necessitated the strengthening of the existing SERVICOM Desk in the office to enable the applicants to make inquiries without physically visiting the NIS office for necessary information or complaints.
The NIS official said the PCO, who hails from Kano State, knew the pains of people waiting for many hours to get deserved service from government public offices hence he made things easier for applicants by creating more desks and deployed officers to quickly attend to applicants visiting the office.
The source said in the PCO’s drive for zero tolerance for corruption, he gave a strong warning to personnel to shun any form of sharp practices that could smear the image of the command.
The command’s source said: “Zakaria’s open door policy, took centre stage with the manner with which he availed himself attending to applicants when the need arose. He built a cordial relationship with staff of the Command which ushered in productivity and commitment.
“To meet the expectations of the command, the PCO took it upon himself to organise in-house training sessions for officers in encouraging applicants to forward their particulars to desk officers in the Bayelsa State Command for documentation.
“With these outstanding performance of the Passport Office, Zakaria received commendation from the Bayelsa State government and functionaries who are direct beneficiaries of the quality service from the Passport Office and also a commendation letter from the State Comptroller, Mr James Sunday.
“Already, passport applicants have confirmed that despite the challenges of limited booklets at the disposal of the service, they are satisfied with the officer’s attitude towards work and commended the NIS for putting efforts in rendering quality service delivery.
“On account of his quality leadership style exhibited, just a few months of piloting the affairs of the Passport Office in Bayelsa State, many citizens are of the view that this great performer should be encouraged by the service as a model to others not functioning well at their different offices.”