Go Get Your Passport: FG Announces 1.3m International Passport Booklets Printed, Distributed to Nigerians
- The Federal government has asked Nigerians who applied for international passports to go get their booklets
- This is coming amid widespread information on passport shortages as reason many Nigerians try to use officers to speed the application process
- The Nigerian government has encouraged Nigerians to sit at home and apply as there are no shortages
PAY ATTENTION: Click “See First” under the “Following” tab to see Legit.ng News on your Facebook News Feed!
The Federal Government has revealed that in 2021, 1.3 million international passport booklets were printed for Nigerians.
Minister of Interior Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola disclosed this on Tuesday, 9 August 2022 while commissioning the Enhanced Passport Production Centre in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
The Vanguard reports that the Minister gave the figure while reacting to concerns about the shortages of passport booklets, saying it has enough to meet the growing demands of Nigerians.
Source: UGC
What the minister said
Speaking at in Rivers State, the Aregbesola also assured that all is in place to ensure passport booklets are available to Nigerians.
PAY ATTENTION: Join Legit.ng Telegram channel! Never miss important updates!
He said:
"Last year alone, we provided 1.3 million passports to Nigerians. As of today, there is no booklets shortage in Nigeria.
“As at the second quarter of this year (in June), the NIS have provided 645,000 passports out of the 750,000 applications received. To address the challenge of the backlog, we have sent 11,000 booklets to Ikoyi, 11,000 to Alausa and 8,000 to FESTAC centres in Lagos.
“We have also sent sufficient booklets to all the centres nationwide to address this challenge. There is therefore no excuse again for delay and non-issuance within a reasonable period."
Apply yourself
Aregbesola also urged the public to make sure they apply themselves online to avoid being shortchanged by unscrupulous elements.
Legit.ng recently revealed how Nigerians can apply for a passport sitting at the comfort of their home for N26,000.
He added:
“I will urge applicants for the Nigerian passport to apply early enough before their travel date to avoid cutting corners and falling into the hands of scammers and other opportunists. It is important also that they apply by themselves at the Nigeria Immigration Service portal and not through touts and unscrupulous officials, which often bring heartaches.
“We have provided a window of six weeks and three weeks for fresh application and renewal respectively, after biometric data capture, by which time, other things being equal, the passport will be ready for collection. This timeline is to enable NIS investigate and validate the claims of applicants and confer integrity on the passport issued. It is a reasonable provision in passport administration by global standard.
There is no wait-and-get passport service anywhere in the world. The only wait-and-get passport is passport-sized photograph from Polaroid camera.”
Nigerian passport jumps 3 places in global ranking
Meanwhile, the Nigerian passport has moved up three places in the global ranking to sit at 100th most powerful.
The change also brings the good news that holders of Nigerian passports can now travel to 46 countries visa-free.
There are also three other countries where Nigerians can travel and get visas on arrival.
Source: Legit.ng
