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The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has officially ended passport production at multiple centres, adopting a single, centralised system for the first time in 62 years.
Minister of Interior, Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, made this known on Thursday while inspecting Nigeria’s new Centralised Passport Personalisation Centre at the NIS Headquarters in Abuja. He explained that since the establishment of the service in 1963, the country had never operated a centralised passport production centre until now, describing the move as a major reform milestone.
“The project is 100 per cent ready. Nigeria can now be more productive and efficient in delivering passport services,” Tunji-Ojo said.
Centralised Passport Production to Deliver Faster and More Reliable Services
The minister revealed that the old machines could only produce between 250 and 300 passports daily, whereas the new centralised system has the capacity to process 4,500 to 5,000 passports each day. “With this, NIS can now meet daily demands within just four to five hours of operation,” he added, describing the initiative as a game-changer for passport processing in Nigeria.
According to him, the federal government’s promise of delivering passports within two weeks is now being improved further, with efforts underway to achieve a one-week turnaround time. “Automation and optimisation are crucial for keeping this promise to Nigerians,” he said.
Tunji-Ojo also noted that centralisation, in line with global standards, would enhance uniformity and strengthen the overall integrity of Nigerian travel documents worldwide.
He described the new development as a step toward bringing services closer to Nigerians, while driving a culture of efficiency and reform across the entire passport system. He stressed that the centralised production system is in line with President Bola Tinubu’s reform agenda, boosting NIS capacity and changing the narrative for better service delivery.
