The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has launched a centralised passport personalisation system capable of producing up to 5,000 passports every day, a significant jump from the previous 250–300 capacity at multiple centres.
Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, announced the development on Thursday during an inspection of the new Centralised Passport Personalisation Centre at the NIS headquarters in Abuja.
He described it as a game-changing reform for passport processing in Nigeria.
“For the first time in 62 years, NIS is operating a single central passport production hub. This project is 100 per cent ready, and it will allow Nigeria to be more productive and efficient in delivering passport services,” Tunji-Ojo said.
With the new facility, the Minister said the NIS can now meet daily passport demands within four to five hours of operation.
“We promised two-week delivery, but with automation and optimisation, we are now pushing for one week,” Tunji-Ojo explained.
“This centre puts an end to the era of backlogs and delays. When this administration came on board, we inherited over 204,000 pending applications. That chapter is now closed. Everything is automated and efficient, ensuring Nigerians get value for their money,” he added.
“This is more than just about documents; it’s about restoring trust and showing Nigerians that their government can deliver effectively,” he said.
The drive for efficiency in the passport issuance comes at extra costs for Nigerians who will now be paying times two of the cost to acquire the document.
Naijaonpoint recently reported that the NIS had increased the cost of acquiring the Nigerian international passport from N50,000 to N100,000 for a 32-page passport with 5-year validity.
According to the Service, a 64-page passport with 10-year validity will now cost N200,000, a 100% increase from the current N100,000 fee. The increment took effect from September 1, 2025.