The Federal Government has launched a centralised passport personalisation system capable of producing up to 5,000 passports daily, a significant increase from the previous capacity of 250–300 across multiple centres.
The new facility, situated at the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) Headquarters, is the first centralised passport personalisation centre in the agency’s 62-year history.
The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, who inspected the completed centre alongside the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Interior, Magdalene Ajani, and the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Immigration Service, Kemi Nandap, described it as a “big win” for the country.
According to the Minister, the state-of-the-art infrastructure will significantly reduce processing time, enabling passports to be printed within 24 hours and delivered within a week.
He noted that this innovation aligns Nigeria with global best practices, already adopted by countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, France, India, and Bangladesh.
“The era of backlogs and manual personalisation is over. Nigerians can now expect faster, more reliable service as we strengthen the integrity of our travel documents,” Tunji-Ojo stated.
He explained that the centralisation of passport personalisation replaces the previous system where production was spread across 96 centres nationwide and abroad, an arrangement he described as inefficient and vulnerable.
“Centralisation is the global standard. It ensures better quality control, security, and service delivery. We promised to deliver this reform, and I’m pleased to announce that the project is now 100 per cent ready,” he said.
Highlighting other ongoing reforms, the Minister announced the unification of Nigeria’s two passport series into a single regime, with support from technical partner Iris Smart Technologies.
He also confirmed that Nigeria has fully migrated to the International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) Public Key Directory, which enables the global authentication of travel documents.
Tunji-Ojo revealed that the new system was developed in response to the backlog of 204,000 passport applications inherited by the current administration. He stressed that automation and reduced human interference will ensure that such delays become a thing of the past.
“This system ensures efficiency, transparency, and accountability. Officers no longer need to work round the clock to process piles of applications,” he said.
The Minister expressed appreciation to President Bola Tinubu for his unwavering support, as well as Ajani, Nandap, NIS officers, and technical partners for their role in bringing the project to completion.
He described the centralised passport personalisation centre as a major milestone in the federal government’s broader efforts to reform service delivery, enhance efficiency, and improve national identity management.
