The president of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday directed that a list of people using diplomatic passports illegally be submitted to him.
Buhari made the declaration after he was briefed by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bulus Lolo. He said he is going to take decisive action against defaulters.
“Something has to be done so that we can get back our respectability as a country. Some people carry official passports and get involved in all sorts of negative acts. We need to do something about it,” the president told the ministry officials at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Earlier, on Monday, the Nigeria Immigration Service had ordered past public officers to return their diplomatic passports.
Former public office holders include governors, lawmakers at the national and state level, ministers, commissioners, local government chairpersons and their deputies.
Retired heads of parastatals and other former public officers in possession of the federal government’s diplomatic passport were also asked to return them.
The Comptroller General of NIS, M.K Abeshi, said the passports previously held by the ex-public officers had been revoked and should be returned to the head quarter of the NIS in Abuja with immediate effect.
Mr. Abseshi stressed that continuous possession of the passport after the expiration of tenure of office of the holders is an offence under the Immigration Act 2015 and added that the passports will be seized at the airport if holders attempt to use them.
