How We Cleared 200,000 Passport Backlogs, ₦28bn Debts, Tunji-Ojo

The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, has given a clarification, how the ministry was able to clear over 200,000 passport backlogs and ₦28bn debts within a short space of time.

Tunji-Ojo gave the insight at an Access Bank Guest Lecture Series in Lagos on the topic, “Dare to Dream, Dare to Innovate”, where he also called for bold leadership, system reform, and the smart use of technology in operations.

Stating that the ministry used innovation, technology, and planning to clear passport backlogs and debts, he mentioned these to encompass like e-visa platforms, contactless passport renewals for Nigerians abroad, adding that advanced passenger tracking have been launched.

“Leadership is not about reacting to problems, it is about foreseeing and solving them before they occur. And for that, you must always ask: What is your purpose? How will you execute it? And when is the right time to act?” he said.

On the state of Nigerian prisons, Tunji-Ojo said the correctional system is in bad shape pointing out that more than 4,000 inmates are behind bars simply because they can’t pay fines as low as ₦50,000.

“This is not a legal crisis, it is a moral one. A society that punishes poverty more harshly than crime has lost its moral compass,” he said, adding however that the ministry was working on the problem.

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According to him, the ministry is pushing for reforms that focus on rehabilitation, not just punishments, adding that the assistance of private donors could help in ensuring release of many non-violent prisoners.

“A correctional facility must correct, not condemn. Justice without dignity is injustice in disguise,” he said.

“Innovation is not about big budgets, it is about big thinking,” he said, adding that digital case tracking, vocational training in prisons, and partnerships to improve prison conditions are some of the innovations put in place by the ministry.