The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has dismissed reports alleging that a particular region of the country has been excluded from obtaining Nigerian passports, describing the claims as false and misleading.
In a statement issued on Saturday, the Service said the reports were a misrepresentation of ongoing reforms designed to modernise Nigeria’s passport administration process.
According to the NIS, no region or group of Nigerians has been barred from passport issuance, stressing that access to passports remains open to all eligible citizens nationwide.
The Service explained that it is currently implementing a phased onboarding process to migrate passport offices within Nigeria and at foreign missions to a centralised passport production system, a reform that began in 2024.
It said the initiative is aimed at improving efficiency, enhancing security, and strengthening the integrity of passport production and issuance.
As part of the reform, the NIS disclosed that passport offices in several North-East and North-Central states—Borno, Yobe, Benue, Kogi, Nasarawa, Niger and Plateau—have already been successfully integrated into the new system. It added that 35 international passport stations across Africa, Asia, Europe and South America have also been onboarded.
The Service further stated that the migration of passport offices in the five South-East states—Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo—along with five foreign missions in Italy, Greece, Spain, Switzerland and Austria, is currently ongoing and scheduled for completion within the first quarter of 2026.
To prevent service disruptions, the NIS said it has introduced a structured work-plan calendar to ensure continuity and timely service delivery throughout the migration period.
The Service urged Nigerians to disregard speculative reports capable of generating unnecessary tension, reaffirming its commitment to equitable service delivery, national unity and operational excellence.
By Michael Olugbode
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