Nigerian Government Promises Faster Passport Processing 

The Federal Government has pledged to streamline the Nigerian passport issuance process, aiming to deliver passports within one week of application submission. 

This assurance was given by the Minister of Interior, Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, during a mid-tenure performance retreat held by the ministry on Thursday in Abuja. 

The minister highlighted that the expedited processing is part of ongoing reforms to improve passport services. According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) recently announced a 100 percent fee increase effective September 1, 2025, with the 32-page, five-year passport now costing N100,000 and the 64-page, ten-year booklet priced at N200000.

“Our target is very clear; within one week of enrolment, every Nigerian should have their passport in hand.

“Not just delivering quickly, but delivering quality passports that reflect our integrity as a nation,” the minister said.

He said that the new system was designed to eliminate long delays and extortion that once forced citizens to wait six months to seven months and pay excessively for fast-track processing.

Tunji-Ojo explained that the centralised personalisation centre will ensure faster processing and stricter security.

“With this facility, we can print five times more passports than we currently need; once you enrol, it doesn’t take us more than 24 hours to vet as printing capacity is no longer our problem,” he said.

The minister further said that the inefficient system inherited by his administration with six months backlog of passport applications were cleared in two and a half weeks.

“Nigerians will apply for passports and wait endlessly, or be asked to pay hundreds of thousands of Naira,” he said.

The minister said that Passport Control Officers (PCOs) would no longer have powers to apprpve or delay passport applications.

“This reform is aimed at curbing racketeering, eliminating delays and restoring integrity to Nigeria’s travel documents.

“We realised that the best way to cut corruption is to remove human contact to the barest minimum.

“Passport approval will no longer rest in the hands of officers as my responsibility is not for them to like me, but to deliver efficiency. Let Nigerians be happy,” he said.

Tunji-Ojo further said that the reforms would also eradicate the illegal possession of Nigerian passports by foreigners.

“In one incident, an Ugandan woman carrying a Nigerian passport was arrested at Lagos Airport after paying $1,000 to procure it.

“That cannot continue as our passport must remain a true symbol of Nigerian identity,” he declared.

NAN