The Federal Government has ended the production of Nigerian passports at multiple centres, introducing a single, centralised system for the first time since the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) was established in 1963.
Minister of Interior, Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, announced the development on Thursday while inspecting the new Centralised Passport Personalisation Centre at the NIS headquarters in Abuja. He described the move as a historic reform that will significantly improve efficiency in passport processing.
“The project is 100 per cent ready. Nigeria can now be more productive and efficient in delivering passport services,” Tunji-Ojo stated.
According to him, the previous machines could only produce between 250 and 300 passports daily, but the new facility has the capacity to process 4,500 to 5,000 passports every day, meeting daily demands within four to five hours of operation.
The minister emphasised that the innovation is a “game-changer” for passport issuance, noting that the government’s earlier pledge of a two-week delivery period is now being revised to one week. He stressed that automation and optimisation are key to sustaining this faster service.
Tunji-Ojo explained that centralising passport production is in line with global standards, as it ensures uniformity and strengthens the integrity of Nigerian travel documents worldwide.
He added that the reform supports President Bola Tinubu’s agenda for improved service delivery and will drive a culture of efficiency within the NIS.
“This marks a major step toward total passport system reform and brings Nigeria closer to global best practices,” the minister said.
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