Yemi Akinsuyi
28 August 2008
Lagos — Comptroller-General of Immigration (CG) Mr. Chukwurah Udeh, said submission of Letter of Consent from husbands would no longer be a requirement for issuance of Nigerian passport.
Udeh said this when Executive Secretary of the National Human Rights Commission, Mrs Kehinde Ajoni, visited him at his office in Abuja.
According to him, the requirement is discriminatory against women and was no longer tenable at this age, and should, therefore, be expunged.
He, however, said women are still required to submit copies of their marriage certificates, while reiterating that the NIS would continue to respect the rights of individuals, in line with the Federal Government's policy on rule of law.
Earlier, Ajoni told the CG that she was in his office to seek collaboration between the two government agencies, in the area of respect for human rights.
She was later taken on a tour of the passport processing office in Abuja.
In another development, the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) is to introduce cybercafÈ in its passport office premises all over the Federation, that will be dedicated to only passport application.
He said the objective is to address complains from applicants who encounter hitches at cybercafÈs that do not have adequate knowledge of cybernetics required for processing passport applications.
According to the CGI, the NIS has set guidelines for operation of the cybercafÈ to ensure that operators meet with acceptable standards and collect only a token from applicants.
However, passport applicants are at liberty to use any internet facility anywhere for processing their applications.
Consequently, the CGI has directed the State Comptrollers to set up committees in their Commands to screen operators duly registered with the appropriate government agency and ensure that only the most qualified operators are granted approval.
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