The Cross River command of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has urged Nigerians to exercise patience with the service for sequential production and issuance of their passports.

The NIS comptroller in the state, Simbabi Baikie, at the 2022 SERVICOM week celebration of the command, said most Nigerians are impatient when applying for their passports, hence the pressure on the passport control officer.

Mr Baikie, represented by Abubakar Abdulkadir, NIS deputy comptroller, said it was important for Nigerians to have their passport ready before they are in need of it.

“Anytime an opportunity comes, you can use your passport and apply or go for the appointment, rather than come within a short time and put us under pressure to produce it.

“Somebody can apply for his or her international passport online and then visit the command that he wants the passport on that same day; this is not possible,” Mr Baikie said.

He further said that questionnaires had been sent out to the public with a view to get their perception and areas the command could improve upon.

Speaking, the passport control officer of the command, Clementina Ogbudu, said that between January 4 and February 14, the command produced 1,617 passports, adding that 281 had been issued to the applicants while others were pending.

(NAN)