Nigeria’s Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, has said he would not want to be remembered for easing the international passport issuance processes but for securing the nation’s borders against external aggressors and movements of arms.
Mr Tunji-Ojo said this at the weekend when he was hosted by his friends and old schoolmates at Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, where the minister spent a session before travelling to the United Kingdom for studies.
“I don’t want to be remembered for addressing the bottlenecks with the issuance of international passports when I leave office. That is not the core mandate of my office. There are so much more. But I want to be remembered for securing Nigerian borders and enhancing internal security,” he said.
The minister said he regretted that the issuance of international passport passports for qualified Nigerians had for long been seen as a privilege, noting that it is a right for deserving every Nigerian who can afford it.
He, however, said the core mandates of his ministry include the protection of Nigerians through border security, managing the people’s identity, making the custodial centres livable, and ensuring that fire incidences and other emergencies are addressed promptly and professionally.
