Aregbesola Clears Air On Passport Issuance, Reiterates May 31

Following the delay in the issuance of passports, the Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, on Saturday said the Nigeria Immigration Service was working to ensure all outstanding passport applications were issued by the end of this month, May 31.

He explained that from June 1, passports would be issued within six weeks.

He also stressed that the COVID-19 pandemic affected the issuance of passports in the country.

“The government had launched the electronic temporary passport to ease the burden on Nigerians”, he said.

The Minister of Interior spoke on Saturday during a virtual inaugural quarterly lecture series of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission.

The event, tittled, ‘Mobilising Nigerians in the Diaspora for National Development.’

Aregbesola said, “The Nigeria Immigration Service also had their fair share of the pandemic which affected passport issuance.

“We have launched an electronic temporary passport to ease the burden of Nigerians.

“By May 31, all outstanding passport applications will be cleared. We are also looking at domesticating passport printing to avoid a shortage of booklets for renewal and new passport collection.

“Also, from June 1, the collection of passports will take six weeks and this will allow us to carry out due diligence”.