The Passport Command of the Immigration Service, Ikoyi, Lagos has expressed worries over 16,863 abandoned passports in its office.   The command decried the refusal of the applicants to collect their passports after waisting their money and time to procure the travelling documents. 
The Deputy comptroller in charge of the command, Deputy Comptroller  A.I Liman, made this known in an exclusive interview with The Tide in Lagos on Wednesday.
The officer, who assumed duty barely three weeks ago at the Ikoyi   command, said as at Monday, over 7,000 bulk messages had been sent to applicants to come forward for collection of their passports.
On challenges facing the command, he said, “Most worrisome is the frustrations given the service and applicants by the NIMC. A passport that is supposed to be produced in less than three days may likely take three weeks or more as a result of minor error that can be corrected by NIMC , giving the service a tough time in the course of service delivery.
Liman promised that the command under his watch would discharge its duty as enshrined in the oath of office. 
“In doing this, I will not ascribe to myself monopoly of knowledge as good suggestions will be welcomed from within and outside the service. Iam not averse to constructive criticism”, he said. 
He also promised to operate an open door policy with stakeholders, most especially the media, in furtherance to information sharing and dissemination as part of the service contributions to the nation.
He called for stronger partnership with the media, saying the media has what it takes to educate the public on issuance of passports. 
“Finally, I call on all officers and men of the command to toe the path of professionalism and rededicate ourselves to the services that we all swore to discharge.

By: Nkpemenyie Mcdominic, Lagos