Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) scheduled December 2018 for the commencement for the issuance of Nigerian Passport with 10 years validity.
Mr Mohammed Babandede, Comptroller-General of NIS, unveiled the plan when he visited Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo state in Ibadan.
The immigration boss and some senior officers were in Ibadan for the first International Conference on Border In-Transition at the University of Ibadan.
He explained that the new passport would have features that could stand the test of time, adding that it would run concurrently with the old ones.
“We thank President Muhammadu Buhari for approving the new passport with 10 years validity.
“We have also repositioned and improved on our services as directed by the president,” he said.
Babandede said NIS had also improved accessibility to visa through the introduction of Visa-on-Arrival for immigrants whose country was without an embassy.
READ: APC risks crushing defeat with Oshiomhole as chairman by SKC Ogbonnia
“We have initiated the centralisation of Temporary Work Permit for immigrants who are in the country for a temporary assignment as well as made it easy for women to do a change of name across the states.
“We have also introduced forward-front-border patrol to curtail activities of smugglers and criminals within the border areas.
“We will continue to ensure adequate security of the border and country at large,” he said.
He said that the president had directed that NIS officers should patronize the bushes, unlike the street patrol system which operated before his administration.
In his response, Ajimobi charged NIS to ensure regular monitoring of the nation’s borders for the sustenance of peace in the country.
Ajimobi, who was represented by his deputy, Chief Moses Adeyemo, admonished the NIS boss to initiate policies towards checking illegal immigrants into the country.
He urged them to improve on border policing and ensure recruitment of credible people into the service.
![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-450x300.jpg "Odiong: US-based Nigerian Catholic priest convicted over sexual assault")
