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By Akpan David, Calabar
Consumers of immigration services in Cross River State have been celebrated by the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) as part of activities to mark this year’s event SERVICOM week.
Many of the passport applicants and immigrants converged at the headquarters of NIS where they exchanged pleasantries and spoke about their services in recent times
Two applicants, Dr Ededet Akpan Enoh from Akwa Ibom State and Mazi Okey Maduekwe from Imo State said the immigration services have improved in recent times.
“From what i have seen so far, I am pleased at the way I and my wife have been attended to. Perhaps it is like that every day”, Enoh said.
Maduekwe said he came to process passport for his niece and was impressed how dutiful the personnel were.
Meanwhile, there has been an increase in the number of Nigerian university students seeking to collect ECOWAS Traveling Certificates to travel out of the country.
Speaking on behalf of the Comprotroller of Immigration Service in the state, Chris Baikie, his deputy Mr Abubakar Abdulkadir, said the celebration of this year’s SERVICOM week held at the headquarters of Nigeria Immigration Service from 14 to 18 February 2021.
“There is a sharp increase in the number of Nigerian students preferring to apply for ECOWAS Traveling Certificates (ETC).
“There was a time over 20 students came for the certificate in a day. I suspect they may have been sponsored.
“Many Nigerian students have gotten the ETC and are studying in Ghanaian university presently.”
Abdulkadir listed that the NIS has an array of public services which are not limited to issuance of international Passports or ECOWAS Traveling Certificates but cute across several Immigration services.
Also speaking, Clementina Ogbudu, Passport Control Officer said many applicants were now coming forward to claim their abandoned passports which they applied for since 2018.
Ogbundu said 281 of such passports have been collected.
She had told journalists in January 2022 that there were 2560 Nigerian Passports which were uncollected in their Calabar office since 2018.
She said they have reached out to many of the applicants using a dedicated telephone line and many have positively responded and have reduced the number of uncollected passports.
