The Nigeria Immigration Service has revealed that it issued over two million passports for Nigerians in 2023.
The Comptroller-General of the NIS, Caroline Wuraola Adepoju, made the revelation on Tuesday during a webinar.
The webinar was organised by the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission on Tuesday.
It was tagged: “New Passport Policy/Processes for Nigerians in Diaspora.”
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Adepoju noted that the mass relocation of Nigerians to foreign countries in search of greener pastures has increased the number of passport applications.
She explained that the agency recorded 1.3 million in 2021, while 1.5 million was recorded in 2022.
The CGI furthered that in 2023, the recorded passport issued rose to over 2.1 million.
Speaking on the new automation processing of passports, Adepoju asserted that it was a great initiative and has reduced human interface with the agency.
She disclosed that over 100,000 applications were received online since the automation went live and over 80 percent of them were processed without challenges.
While commending the initiative, Adepoju added that the reform of the passport processing would reduce pressure on strained facilities of the NIS Nationwide.
In response, the Chairman/CEO, NiDCOM, Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, lauded the CGI for the milestone achievements.
Dabiri-Erewa added that the initiative has helped in easing the pains of Nigerians within a short period of time.
