The Federal Government has ended the longstanding practice of producing Nigerian passports at multiple locations, ushering in a single, centralised production system — a first since the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) was founded in 1963.
Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, Minister of Interior, revealed the development on Thursday during an inspection of the newly completed Centralised Passport Personalisation Centre at the NIS headquarters in Abuja. He called the reform historic, saying it will dramatically boost the efficiency of passport processing.
“The project is 100 per cent ready. Nigeria can now be more productive and efficient in delivering passport services,” Tunji-Ojo said. Under the old system, passport‐production machines managed just 250 to 300 passports per day. The new facility, he said, can process 4,500 to 5,000 passports daily, accomplishing in four to five hours what previously took much longer.
He emphasized that this is a “game-changer” for passport issuance. Previously, Nigerians were told to expect passports in about two weeks; the new target is one week. Key to this acceleration, he noted, are automation and optimization.
The centralised model aligns with international standards, Tunji-Ojo added, helping to ensure uniformity and reinforcing the credibility of Nigerian travel documents globally. He also said the reform supports President Bola Tinubu’s agenda for better service delivery and is intended to foster a culture of greater efficiency within the NIS.
“This marks a major step toward total passport system reform and brings Nigeria closer to global best practices,” the minister stated.
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