Interior minister,Reps disagree over diplomatic passport

Details

Written by Abdullateef Abubakar Jos

Moro disagreed with the committee at a public hearing of a bill, ``An Act to

amend the Passport (Miscellaneous Provision) Act Laws of the Federation of

Nigeria 2004.”

He said that irrespective of the Vienna Convention, individual countries also had

their own sovereign rights on the issue of passport.

According to him, the power of the president to issue or cause diplomatic

passport to be issued to any individual he considers worthy must be left intact.

Moro said rather than reducing the list of beneficiaries, there might be need to

expand it.

However, the Chairman of the committee Umar Bature expressed contrary view

on the issue.

Bature called for scaling down of the number of persons eligible for passport in

view of the various abuses of the diplomatic passport.

``Over the years, there has been dispute over who should carry the diplomatic

passport. At a time, it was causing friction between the executive and the

legislature. Currently, there are 41 categories of persons eligible to carry the

passports. How do we stem abuses?”asked the committee chairman

``For instance, after you've left the service and the passport is yet to expire,

are you still entitled to hold it and if not, how do we retrieve it? he opined

Mr Martin Uhomoibhi, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs,

expressed dismay over the various abuses that characterised issuance of

diplomatic and official passports.

He said the issuance of the passports should be in line with the Vienna

Convention and what obtained internationally.

Minister of Interior, Mr Abba Moro, on Friday disagreed with members of House of Representatives Committee on Interior, on who is eligible to carry diplomatic passport.

Moro disagreed with the committee at a public hearing of a bill, ``An Act to amend the Passport (Miscellaneous Provision) Act Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004.”

He said that irrespective of the Vienna Convention, individual countries also had their own sovereign rights on the issue of passport.

According to him, the power of the president to issue or cause diplomatic passport to be issued to any individual he considers worthy must be left intact.

Moro said rather than reducing the list of beneficiaries, there might be need to expand it.

However, the Chairman of the committee Umar Bature expressed contrary view on the issue.

Bature called for scaling down of the number of persons eligible for passport in view of the various abuses of the diplomatic passport.

``Over the years, there has been dispute over who should carry the diplomatic passport. At a time, it was causing friction between the executive and the legislature. Currently, there are 41 categories of persons eligible to carry the passports. How do we stem abuses?”asked the committee chairman

``For instance, after you've left the service and the passport is yet to expire, are you still entitled to hold it and if not, how do we retrieve it? he opined

Mr Martin Uhomoibhi, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, expressed dismay over the various abuses that characterised issuance of diplomatic and official passports.

He said the issuance of the passports should be in line with the Vienna Convention and what obtained internationally.

Minister of Interior, Mr Abba Moro, on Friday disagreed with members of House of Representatives Committee on Interior, on who is eligible to carry diplomatic passport.

Moro disagreed with the committee at a public hearing of a bill, ``An Act to amend the Passport (Miscellaneous Provision) Act Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004.”

He said that irrespective of the Vienna Convention, individual countries also had their own sovereign rights on the issue of passport.

According to him, the power of the president to issue or cause diplomatic passport to be issued to any individual he considers worthy must be left intact.

Moro said rather than reducing the list of beneficiaries, there might be need to expand it.

However, the Chairman of the committee Umar Bature expressed contrary view on the issue.

Bature called for scaling down of the number of persons eligible for passport in view of the various abuses of the diplomatic passport.

``Over the years, there has been dispute over who should carry the diplomatic passport. At a time, it was causing friction between the executive and the legislature. Currently, there are 41 categories of persons eligible to carry the passports. How do we stem abuses?”asked the committee chairman

``For instance, after you've left the service and the passport is yet to expire, are you still entitled to hold it and if not, how do we retrieve it? he opined

Mr Martin Uhomoibhi, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, expressed dismay over the various abuses that characterised issuance of diplomatic and official passports.

He said the issuance of the passports should be in line with the Vienna Convention and what obtained internationally.