FG Centralises Passport Production, Ends 62-Year Old System

In a historic move, the Federal Government has ended passport production at multiple centres across the country, transitioning to a single, centralised system for the first time in 62 years.

Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, disclosed this on Thursday while inspecting the Nigeria Immigration Service’s (NIS) new Centralised Passport Personalisation Centre at its headquarters in Abuja.

Since its inception in 1963, the NIS had operated several passport production points, but centralised production had remained elusive—until now. Tunji-Ojo described the milestone as a major reform in Nigeria’s immigration sector.

“The project is 100 per cent ready. Nigeria can now be more productive and efficient in delivering passport services,” he said.

The minister explained that the previous machines could produce only 250 to 300 passports daily, while the new system can churn out between 4,500 and 5,000 passports per day.

“With this capacity, NIS can now meet daily passport demands within just four to five hours,” he added, calling it a game-changer for passport processing in the country.

Tunji-Ojo also revealed that the NIS, which had promised a two-week delivery time, was now targeting one-week passport issuance. “Automation and optimisation are crucial to keeping this promise to Nigerians,” he said.

The minister further stressed that centralisation, in line with international standards, would improve uniformity and strengthen the integrity of Nigerian travel documents worldwide.

“This is a step toward bringing services closer to Nigerians while instilling a culture of efficiency. It is part of President Bola Tinubu’s reform agenda, enhancing NIS capacity and ensuring better service delivery,” Tunji-Ojo said.