Around 250 passports for Nigerians residing in Kuwait have been handed over to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for distribution to the applicants, according to the Nigeria Immigration Service.
The agency said that development on roughly 50 others is continuing and that they would be available to applicants shortly.
On November 2, the Daily Trust reported on the frustrations of the impacted applicants. They claim they are in danger of deportation due to their inability to renew their residence permits caused by the delays in getting their passports.
When asked about the situation, NIS comptroller general Isa Idris blamed the pandemic for the delay. He claimed that many embassies had had problems arranging passport requests from Nigerians due to the pandemic-induced lockdowns in several countries.
“But let me confirm to you that 250 passports belonging to Nigerians residing in Kuwait have been produced and sent to Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs for onward transmission to the Nigerian Embassy in Kuwait as far back as November 3,” said Mr Idris.
“The remaining balance of about 50 were completed two days after.”
He said NIS is committed to addressing all the challenges being faced by Nigerians both home and abroad when it comes to passports.
“Passports are what represent national identity. Certain integrity tests must be carried out to ensure the sanctity of the documents. COVID-19 really dealt a great blow to so many things globally but we are gradually getting out of the woods,” he added.
