The Nigeria Immigration Service has clarified the ongoing implementation of its Passport Centralization Reform, saying that the Service has not suspended issuance of the documents as a result of the reforms.
The Public Relations Officer of the Service, Akinsola Akinlabi said in a statement issued in Abuja that the clarification became necessary following public enquiries and misconceptions arising from the phased migration of production in passport offices across all the six geopolitical zones in the country to the Central Personalization Centre, Service Headquarters, Abuja.
Akinlabi said the NIS ‘unequivocally states that the migration of production in passport offices to the Central Personalization Centre is purely operational and does not in any way stop the processing and issuance of passport at any passport office within the country’.
He added thar operations are still ongoing at designated Nigeria’s Embassies and Consulates abroad as well.
He explained that the reforms formed part of a broader modernization Programme aimed at strengthening the security, integrity, and efficiency of Nigeria’s passport issuance system.
??’For the record, the Service adopts a five phase migration implementation plan for onboarding passport offices within the country and designated Nigeria’s Embassies and Consulates abroad aimed at minimizing operational risk, service disruption and ensuring scalability’, Akinlabi said.
He gave the breakdown of the phases as
North Central, Plateau (Jos); Benue (Makurdi); Niger (Minna); Nasarawa (Lafia); Kogi (Lokoja)
North East Borno (Maiduguri); Yobe (Damaturu)
Within Africa, Côte d’Ivoire (Abidjan); Ethiopia (Addis Ababa); Egypt (Cairo); Senegal (Dakar); South Africa (Johannesburg); Tanzania (Dar es Salaam); Cameroon (Douala); Liberia (Monrovia); Benin (Cotonou); Uganda (Kampala); Kenya (Nairobi); Sudan (Khartoum)
And the Middle East, Akinlabi said applicants can obtain the documents at UAE (Abu Dhabi); Trkiye (Ankara); Saudi Arabia (Jeddah); Israel (Tel Aviv)
In Europe, applicants can also obtain in
Ireland (Dublin); Ukraine (Kyiv); Russia (Moscow); Sweden (Stockholm), while in
Asia, Thailand (Bangkok); China (Beijing); Hong Kong; Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur); India (New Delhi); South Korea (Seoul); Japan (Tokyo), the documents can be applied for.
In Americas, it is Brazil (Brasilia); Jamaica (Kingston), Oceania it is
Australia (Canberra)
Phase two within Nigeria, which started in March in South East are Enugu; Anambra (Awka); Imo (Owerri); Abia (Umuahia); Ebonyi (Abakaliki), North Central is FCT (Gwagwalada)
In South West it is Oyo (Ibadan, Oyo); Ogun (Abeokuta, Sagamu); Kwara (Ilorin, Offa)
Europe has Italy (Rome); Greece (Athens); Spain (Madrid); Austria (Vienna); Switzerland (Berne)
Phase three started in June with South South
Edo (Benin, Auchi); Delta (Asaba, Warri) and North WestSokoto; Kebbi (Birnin Kebbi); Zamfara (Gusau); Katsina (Katsina, Daura); Jigawa (Dutse); Kaduna (Kaduna, Zaria)
And South West Osun (Osogbo, Ilesha); Ondo (Akure, Ile Oluji); Ekiti (Ado Ekiti) while Europe has France (Paris); Germany (Berlin, Frankfurt); Belgium (Brussels); Netherlands (The Hague)
Phase for started August this year with North East Gombe (Gombe); Adamawa (Yola); Taraba (Jalingo); Bauchi (Bauchi) and North West
Kano (Kano, Dawakin Kudu), while South South has Rivers (Port Harcourt); Cross River (Calabar); Akwa Ibom (Uyo); Bayelsa (Yenagoa)
Phase five is to be completed by the last quarter of this year in South- West Lagos (Ikoyi, Festac, Alausa, Alimosho, Ikorodu), America, US (New York, Atlanta, DC Washington) UK, Canada
‘Under the new operational framework, all passport booklets printing and security personalization have been consolidated into a secure, centralized, and high-capacity production hub in the Service Headquarters Abuja, ensuring passports are produced and dispatched to passport offices across the country and diaspora within a two-week timeframe.
‘Passport offices in the country and designated Nigeria’s Embassies and Consulates will continue to function as passport processing and issuance offices.
‘The reforms eliminates manual intervention in the personalization process, removes document arbitrage, enhances accountability, guarantees uniform quality standards including advanced security features embedded in every Nigerian passport. Applicants should therefore continue to access passport services at their preferred passport offices as usual,’ Akinlabi said.
?He expressed the commitment of the NIS to deploying technology-driven solutions that would improve service delivery, while safeguarding the integrity of Nigeria’s passport system in line with international best practices.