Tunji-Ojo lists gains as Nigeria ends multi-centre passport production after 62 years

Nigeria’s Federal Government says centralising passport production will deliver faster, more efficient, and globally recognised services, after officially ending Nigeria’s 62-year-old practice of producing passports at multiple centres.

Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, who inspected the new Centralised Passport Personalisation Centre at the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) headquarters in Abuja on Thursday, described the reform as a major milestone.

“This project is 100 per cent ready. Nigeria can now be more productive and efficient in delivering passport services,” Tunji-Ojo said.

He explained that the new system has the capacity to produce 4,500 to 5,000 passports daily, compared to the previous 250 to 300. “With this, NIS can now meet daily demands within just four to five hours of operation,” he added.

The minister said the change would help keep government’s promise of two-week passport delivery, with efforts ongoing to reduce the timeline to just one week.

According to him, centralisation will not only improve uniformity and security, but also enhance the global integrity of Nigerian travel documents.

“It reflects the reform agenda of President Bola Tinubu to improve service delivery. We are not just modernising infrastructure; we are building a culture of efficiency and restoring Nigerians’ confidence in the system,” Tunji-Ojo said.