Passport Issuance: Immigration Service Responds To ‘Banning’ South-East

The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has reacted to allegations online that it has banned the Southeast region of the country from passport issuance.

It made the response via a statement today, issued by its Public Relations Officer DCI Akinsola Akinlabi.

In the statement, it said there was no targeting of any region of the country, but that what was going on was an extensive, government-led reform to modernise passport administration in the country.

The reform the Nigerian immigration added is intended to ensure a  more secure and efficient centralised production framework, which it said started in 2024.

Rather than to exclude individuals from any part of the country from accessing passport issuance services, the service added, the reform is intended to enthrone efficiency, integrity and security of Nigeria’s passport production system

The passport issuance process is phased and would see to the migration of passport offices, including foreign missions, to a centralised production framework, with the southeast currently being addressed, it said.

The five Southeast states of Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo, along with five additional international stations in Italy, Greece, Spain, Switzerland, and Austria, are currently being addressed in the ongoing migration scheduled for the first quarter of 2026.

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A similar onboarding exercise had already been concluded in the Northeast and North Central states of Borno, Yobe, Benue, Kogi, Nasarawa, Niger, and Plateau, and has now been extended to 35 international stations, NIS added.

According to it, the 35 international stations cover Africa, Asia, Europe, and South America.

NIS emphasised that it has established a strict work-plan calendar to ensure this transition remains seamless and does not disrupt delivery timelines.