Taiwo Popoola
The Nigeria Immigration Service, says it is on the verge of rolling out electronic visas, to reduce inefficiency and curtail corruption in immigration processes.
The Comptroller General of the Immigration Service CGIS, Kemi Nandap, has disclosed this while declaring open the 3rd Nationwide Sensitization Campaign on ensuring efficient Service Delivery through Zero Tolerance for Corruption in Abuja.
Nandap said the NISv would soon launch the electronic visa, e-visa, process to make it easier for travellers to visit Nigeria.
The online visa application process is designed to be more efficient and convenient for applicants by eliminating human contact in the application process and minimizing the risk of corruption, she said
Speaking on the theme, “Increased Digitalization and Consolidated Innovations for Efficient and Transparent Services”, she explained that the anti-corruption event would also be held across all Commands and Formations of the Service.
She urged the public to hold the Service accountable and also solicited useful advice, stressing that where the Service has also done well, the personnel should be commended.
The NIS, Nandap said ”plays a pivotal role in National Security, Border Management, and Facilitation of regular Migration, adding that this immense responsibility implies that her actions significantly impact the image of Nigeria.
On the various anti-corruption initiatives in the Service, Nandap said, ”Last year, we made a firm commitment to mitigate corruption in all its forms and engaged in increased digitization and consolidated innovations to improve service delivery and eliminate corruption in the Service.
”One of our flagship initiatives is the Passport Automation Programme, the innovation has significantly reduced the processing time for passports, making it easier and more convenient for Nigerians to obtain their travel documents, while their automation programme has also eliminated the opportunities for corruption that existed in the manual process, due to increased human interface.”
The Immigration boss also said another critical component of the anti-corruption strategy is the Contactless Passport Application Process, which enables Nigerians to submit their applications online, eliminating physical contact officers, ”it not only makes the process more efficient but also shuts out any avenue for corruption”
