The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji Ojo, has said that there is no passport backlog in the country as the Federal Government has cleared a backlog of over 200,000 passports within nine months.

 Speaking at a News conference today in Abuja, Ojo said that the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) which was in charge of these efforts, took action and addressed the inefficiencies in the passport application process within three weeks.

The Minister while fielding questions from newsmen vowed to sanction any official found involved in the face of allegations that convicted cross dresser, Idris Okuneye, aka Bobrisky, who was sentenced to six months in prison but was allegedly given an apartment outside the custodial facility upon thorough investigation.

 Ojo further revealed that over 53,000 paramilitary officers have been promoted within the last nine months, while 32,000 officers were promoted last year, another 20,000 officers were promoted this year.

The Minister also lauded the efforts of the Civil Defence Corps in tackling oil bunkering and vandalism, reporting over 2,254 arrests in the last year and the destruction of 150 illegal refineries.

Furthermore, Ojo announced plans to launch a new contactless biometric passport system, adding that the Federal Government will on October 1st, pre-launch of a contactless biometric solution to ensure a more efficient and user-friendly process for Nigerians both home and abroad.