FG withholds ex-ministers, govs passports

Firstclass newsline gathered that the Nigeria Immigration Service has
revoked the passports of all former governors and ministers issued to
them during their tenure.
The Comptroller-General of the Immigration Service, Martin Abeshi,
said this in a statement on Monday, The Cable reports.
The NIS also instructed former senators, ex-House of Representatives
members, ex-special advisers, retired heads of government agencies,
former members of state Houses of Assembly and retired public servants
to submit their passports
The statement read in part, "These categories of persons are hereby
informed that these passports which were previously held by them have
been revoked and should return them to the Nigeria Immigration Service
Headquarters Sauka Abuja with immediate effect.
"Failure to comply with this directive will amount to an offence under
the Immigration Act 2015. Such unauthorised possession will be
impounded at our control posts on arrival or departure."
The News Agency had reported on August 24 that the Federal Government
had directed the Immigration Service to retrieve all valid diplomatic
and official passports from all persons not entitled to hold such
documents.
A senior immigration official who spoke to a source on the condition
of anonymity said the development was part of the reforms being
carried out by the new immigration boss.
He said ideally, only governors, the President, the Vice-President and
a few other select officials that should ordinarily be entitled to
diplomatic passports.
He, however, lamented that the passport had been bastardised.
He said, "Ideally, only the President, his deputy, governors, deputy
governors, diplomatic officials, ambassadors and a few federal
lawmakers should be entitled to diplomatic passports.
"However, many influential Nigerians including top pastors who were
close to former President Goodluck Jonathan had diplomatic passports.
This should not be so. In fact, state lawmakers and commissioners
shouldn't be entitled to diplomatic passports but the whole thing was
abused."
Firstclassnewsline.net