The Comptroller General of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Wura-Ola Adepoju, announced that the processing of green passports will now take two weeks from the point of application. Adepoju shared this information during an appearance on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily program on Wednesday, accompanied by the NIS Deputy Comptroller General, Kemi Nandap.
Adepoju expressed concern about the significant number of uncollected passports at the Ikoyi office of the Service and other locations. She emphasized the need for a two-week timeframe due to necessary screenings during the production process.
Additionally, Adepoju disclosed that effective March 8, 2024, Nigerians would be able to renew their travel passports without human contact.
She explained that the new contactless application process would leverage existing biometric data, allowing applicants to renew or re-issue passports from the comfort of their homes.
Nandap, the NIS Deputy Comptroller General, provided insights into the automation progress, stating that over 46,000 applications had been received since the system’s launch on January 8, 2024. She urged Nigerians to input accurate information on the Service’s website to facilitate the seamless process.
Adepoju assured the public that the automation initiative aimed to enhance efficiency and national security, emphasizing that there would be no job losses among immigration officials. She also highlighted the provision for changing data on the portal for passport applications.
Regarding measures to prevent non-Nigerians from obtaining the green passport, Nandap explained ongoing collaboration with critical stakeholders such as the NPC and ALGON.
Adepoju assured that despite the contactless process, officers on the ground would conduct secondary checks to verify the nationality of applicants and maintain the security of the Nigerian passport.
