FG assures Nigerians of 7-day passport issuance with new system
The Federal Government says Nigerians will soon be able to obtain their passports within seven days of application, following the upgrade of facilities at the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS).
Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, gave the assurance on Thursday after inspecting the newly completed Data Personalisation Centre at the NIS headquarters in Abuja, describing it as a “game-changer” for the nation’s passport production.
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According to him, the centre allows passports to be printed within 24 hours and delivered within a week, eliminating delays that previously stretched into months.
Tunji-Ojo explained that while the old system processed just 250–300 passports per machine daily, the new facility can produce 1,000 passports per hour, giving the NIS capacity to handle 4,500 to 5,000 daily.
He said the project marks the first time since the establishment of the NIS in 1963 that Nigeria would operate a world-class, centralised passport personalisation system comparable to those in advanced countries such as the US, UK, France, and India.
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The minister noted that the previous model of decentralised production across 96 centres was inefficient and vulnerable, often leading to delays and backlogs. He recalled inheriting a backlog of over 200,000 applications but insisted the new system has ended such problems.
“This project ensures that the era of backlogs is over. Officers no longer have to work around the clock to clear piles of applications. The system is now seamless, fast, and accountable,” he said.
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