To end the lingering scarcity of the e-passport booklets caused by the non-payment of N16 billion production debt to vendors and other stakeholders in the value chain, the federal government and the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) have initiated moves to offset the debt and clear the way for more supplies .

LEADERSHIP Friday learnt that to save its face, the federal government and the NIS have held several meetings with the concerned stakeholders to address the embarrassing situation.

A credible source in the sector said, “The federal government and the NIS had in a swift response to the LEADERSHIP earlier report on the issue, called for dialogue on the part of all critical stakeholders. The government promised to do something regarding the bureaucratic bottlenecks which have been responsible for delays in payments for services rendered.”

While revealing that there is another leg to the discussions, the source disclosed further that   the Nigeria Customs Service and the Immigration Service were working in synergy as government institutions to address the challenges since both are expected to key into the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu.

A sister publication, LEADERSHIP (Daily) reported three weeks ago, that the shortage of the passport booklets was caused by the illegal monthly deductions of 50 per cent fund from the income paid into the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) Treasury Single Account (TSA) from passport sales, specifically opened for the acquisition of the e-passports, by the minister of finance and the Accountant General of the Federation (AGF).

LEADERSHIP had quoted a top source at the passport office at the Nigeria Immigration Service headquarters, as explaining that the misconception is that the gross income paid by passport applicants goes directly to the NIS TSA, from where the service is supposed to make payment to all stakeholders involved in the passport production value chain.

Source: Leadership