The Minister of interior Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo has questioned why a married woman is required to come to the headquarters of the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) to have her name changed on their passports on account of marriage.
Describing the exercise as “inhumane” the minister said women are not subjected to such degrading practices the basis of marriage anywhere in the world.
Tunji-Ojo spoke a recent dinner with members of the Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu ABAT Media Centre and some social media influencers in Abuja.
“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.
“I can’t just figure it 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?” he asked.
Tunji-Ojo declared that the passport issue remains the least of his worries, adding that as of March, the new passport reforms he is putting in place would ensure contactless biometrics enrolment to allow Nigerians to do their enrolments from their comfort zones.
He, however, noted that he wanted more secure borders for the country.
“With the new reforms, you don’t need to travel to Abuja to change your data. Everything will be online,” the minister said.
The Conclave
Dear Minister of Interior:
I have expressed similar sentiments about requiring Nigerian Passport holders in the United States to travel to Washington D.C., New York, N.Y., or Atlanta, GA., from wherever they are resident, to have their Nigerian Passport RENEWED – same type of “inhumane” ascription.
From where I reside in Los Angeles, CA. to any of these locations for Passport-renewal is equivalent to traveling from Lagos, Nigeria to London, UK. Since the Ministry of Interior and the Nigerian Embassy could be linked by way of attending-to, and addressing, Immigration and Emigration issues, Mr. Minister of Interior, you could as well look into this concern I have raised.
Sincerely,
Chief Nnamdi A. Ekenna.