The Nigeria Immigration Service processed and issued at least 9.31 million passports from 2015 to 2022.
It also processed over 1.8 million passports in 2022.
The Minister of Interior Minister, Rauf Aregbesola, revealed this at the 64th session of the State House Ministerial briefing organised by the Presidential Communications Team, at the Aso Rock Villa, Abuja.
The breakdown showed that in 2015, 2016 and 2017, the service processed and issued 941,995, 1,035,668 and 1,136,855 passports, respectively.
In 2018, 2019 and 2020, it 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.
However, findings by The PUNCH revealed that over 148,000 passports have been awaiting collection nationwide since 2020.
The NIS Public Relations Officer, Anthony Akuneme, revealed this in an interview with Saturday PUNCH at the Service headquarters in Abuja.
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 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.
More details to come…
