The Federal Government will ensure that issuance of Nigerian passports will not exceed a week after submission of application.
Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, the Minister of Interior, gave the assurance in Abuja on Thursday during the ministry’s mid-tenure performance retreat.
He said the planned shortened time frame was part of the Federal Government’s reforms in passport issuance process.
“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.
The minister 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.
He said the centralised personalisation centre would 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.
The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) had earlier announced a 100 per cent increase in passport fees from Sept. 1, 2025.
It said while the 32 page passport for five years would go for N100,000, the 64 page booklet for 10 years would cost N200,000.
