NIS speaks on alleged ‘disqualification’ of South East from passport issuance

By Ayorinde Oluokun/Abuja

The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has described reports that the South East region of the country has been disqualified from passport issuance as entirely false and a gross misrepresentation of the ongoing government reforms to modernize passport administration.

Spokesperson for the NIS, DCI AS Akinlabi who said this in a statement on Saturday described the report as baseless.

Rather, he said the NIS is presently implementing a phased onboarding system to migrate passport offices including those in foreign missions to a centralized production framework.

He said the modernization effort, which began in 2024, was designed to enhance the efficiency, integrity and the security of Nigeria’s passport production system and not to exclude any citizen.

He added that the scheduled migration for the five South East states of Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo; and five additional international stations (Italy, Greece, Spain, Switzerland and Austria) is currently ongoing within the first quarter of 2026.

Akinlabi said the NIS has already onboarded passport offices in the North East and North Central states of Borno, Yobe, Benue, Kogi, Nasarawa, Niger, and Plateau, along with 35 international stations spread across Africa, Asia, Europe and South America.

He added that the service has established a strict work-plan calendar to ensure that the transition is seamless and does not disrupt delivery timelines as the goal is to drive the process towards greater efficiency.

“The public is therefore advised to disregard speculative narratives capable of creating unnecessary tension, as the Service continues to implement reforms in the overall national interest. Nigeria Immigration Service remains committed to equitable service delivery and operational excellence,” he said.