*** As Immigration processes 9.3 million passports in 7 years
By Harry Awurumibe, Editor Abuja Bureau
The mass migration of Nigerian youths and skilled workers to foreign countries in the recent time in search of better lives have been attributed to the high demands for the acquisition of international passports leading to the shortage of the booklets.
Nigeria’s Interior Minister, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola confirmed this on Thursday at the 64th Session of the State House Briefing organised by the Presidential Communications Team at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Fielding questions to journalists, Aregbesola who used the forum to provide updates and strides being made by the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration in the core area of internal security, as well as the innovations that have been introduced by the Ministry of Interior to foster collaboration, amongst the Security Agencies responsible for internal security in Nigeria, said the exodus of Nigerians out of the county in search of greener pastures abroad is currently fueling high demands for international passports.
He however said that government is on top of the matter even as he said that in 2022 alone, the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) issued the highest number of passport booklets totalling 1,899,683 in over seven years.
The Minister also said that his ministry has in the process of achieving its Presidential and Ministerial Mandates embarked on many reforms including but not limited to the Review of Visa Policy, Domestication of Production of Passport Booklets and issuance of Temporary Electronic Passports to Nigerians whose international passports have expired abroad but who wants to return home.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Interior has revealed that at least 159 Nigerians renounced their citizenships in 2022 alone while many foreigners who met the requirements were granted Nigerian citizenship too.
The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Interior, Dr Shuaib Belgore, who revealed this on Thursday at the Ministerial briefing said 150 Nigerians renounced their citizenships between 2006 to 2021.
“In 2022, however, 159 Nigerians renounced their citizenships. This is where we are”, Belgore disclosed.
Also, the Immigration Service has processed and issued at least 9.31 million international passports from 2015 to 2022 just as the agency also processed over 1.8 million passports in 2022.
The breakdown of the passports showed that in 2015, 2016 and 2017, the Service processed and issued 941,995, 1,035,668 and 1,136,855 passports, respectively.
Also, in 2018, 2019 and 2020, NIS processed 1,242,953 and 780,047 passports respectively. While 1,056,422 and 1,899,683 passports were processed and issued in 2021 and 2022, respectively.
Meanwhile, Prompt News reports that over 148,000 international passports have been awaiting collection at NIS offices nationwide since 2020.
The NIS Public Relations Officer, Anthony Akuneme had in a recent interview with a national newspaper revealed the huge numbers of unclaimed passports.
Akuneme also noted that the NIS could not reach the owners, some of who input incorrect contact details at the point of registration.
He revealed that the Comptroller-General, Isa Idris, had deployed a team of senior officers nationwide to reach the owners of the abandoned passports.
The NIS spokesperson however revealed that passports whose owners could not be reached at the end of the exercise would not be destroyed as they remain the property of the Federal Government.
