FG Centralises Passport Production for First Time in 62 Years

In a landmark reform, the Federal Government of Nigeria has officially ended passport production at multiple centres nationwide, transitioning to a single, Centralised Passport Personalisation Centre located at the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) Headquarters in Abuja. The announcement was made on Thursday by the Minister of Interior, Honorable Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, during an inspection of the new facility.

Since the establishment of the NIS in 1963, Nigeria had operated a decentralised passport personalisation system across approximately 96 centres domestically and abroad. This fragmented system was vulnerable, inefficient, and contributed to significant processing backlogs. However, for the first time in 62 years, Nigeria is joining the ranks of countries like the United States, United Kingdom, France, India, and Bangladesh by embracing a centralised passport production model, regarded globally as best practice for quality, security, and efficiency.

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“The project is 100 percent ready, and Nigeria can now be more productive and efficient in delivering passport services,” Minister Tunji-Ojo said. The new centre boasts cutting-edge technology capable of producing between 4,500 and 5,000 passports daily, a vast improvement from the old machines which could only personalise 250 to 300 passports per day.

With this upgrade, approved applicants can expect their passports to be printed within 24 hours and delivered within one week, a drastic reduction from previous waiting times. The centralisation also ensures uniformity and strengthens the integrity of Nigerian passports worldwide, as Nigeria has fully migrated to the International Civil Aviation Organization’s Public Key Directory for global authentication of travel documents.

This reform is part of President Bola Tinubu’s broader agenda to modernize key government institutions and restore public confidence in service delivery. However, the improvement comes alongside an increase in passport fees, which the Nigerian Immigration Service recently doubled.

In summing up the significance of the project, Minister Tunji-Ojo said, “This is more than just about documents; it’s about restoring trust and showing Nigerians that their government can deliver effectively.”