By Blessing Olaifa,The Nation
Copyright thenationonlineng
Nigeria has joined the ranks of advanced nations like the United States, the United Kingdom, and France with the capacity to produce up to 5,000 passports daily.
Minister of Interior, Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, disclosed this during an inspection of the newly completed Centralised Passports Personalisation Centre at the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) headquarters on Thursday.
He credited the milestone to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s ‘Renewed Hope Agenda’, noting that the reform ends passport delays and backlogs, with approved booklets now available for collection within 24 hours.
Accompanied by the Permanent Secretary, Dr. Magdalene Ajani, Comptroller-General of NIS, Mrs. Kemi Nanna Nandap, and other top officials, the minister described the centre as a landmark breakthrough in the 62-year history of the service.
Tunji-Ojo added that the facility positions Nigeria alongside countries like India and Bangladesh that operate centralised passport systems, ensuring global best practices in integrity, efficiency, and service delivery.
With its advanced infrastructure, the centre boosts production from 250–300 booklets per machine daily to between 4,500 and 5,000, a development the minister hailed as “a big win for the administration and for Nigerians.”
“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,” the Minister stated.
Reflecting on the key milestones of the reform programme, the Minister listed migration to a single, uniform passport series, eliminating discrepancies between older versions and
Nigeria’s full integration into the ICAO Public Key Directory (PKD), a key factor in ensuring global authentication of Nigerian passports.
He said the successful deployment of the new system across all passport issuing locations, including Nigerian missions abroad, is a significant feature that has made Nigerian passports a top-notch in the global arena.
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He credited President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for his unwavering support, as well as his dedication to the success of the reforms.
The Minister also praised the dedication of Dr. Magdalene Ajani, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, the CG Immigration Service, Mrs Kemi Nandap, officers of the Ministry, and the personnel of the Nigeria Immigration Service for the feat.
Dr Tunji-Ojo further commended IRIS Smart Technologies Ltd., the government’s technical partner, for seeing the project through a strategic partnership that required no direct funding from public coffers.
“This project underscores our resolve to build enduring institutions rather than systems dependent on individuals,” the Minister said.
He added that the completion of the Centre reinforced the Federal Government’s pledge to modernise Nigeria’s passport ecosystem, deliver efficient services to citizens, and elevate the global reputation of Nigerian travel documents.
