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The Nigeria Immigration Service has rejected reports claiming that the Southeast region of the country has been excluded from passport issuance.
Reports circulating on Friday said tension was rising in the Southeast following claims that the region’s only passport production centre, located at the NIS zonal headquarters in Enugu, might be shut down.
Unnamed sources within the immigration service had claimed that passport production activities at the Enugu facility were halted following a directive allegedly issued by the Federal Ministry of Interior.
The sources said a team of technical personnel from Abuja had begun dismantling key passport production machines.
Reacting to the reports, NIS said, in a statement on Saturday, that the claims were “entirely false and a gross misrepresentation of the ongoing government reforms to modernise passport administration.”
According to the immigration service, the current changes are part of a phased onboarding system designed to migrate passport offices, including those in foreign missions, to a centralised production framework.
“The reality is that NIS has introduced a phased onboarding system to migrate passport offices, including those in foreign missions, to a centralized production framework,” the statement said.
NIS said the reform, which began in 2024, aims to improve efficiency, integrity and security in passport production and “not exclude any citizen.”
It said passport offices in several northeastern and north-central states, including Borno, Yobe, Benue, Kogi, Nasarawa, Niger, and Plateau, have already been integrated into the new system, alongside 35 international stations across Africa, Asia, Europe, and South America.
The service added that the migration of passport offices in Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo states, together with five international stations in Italy, Greece, Spain, Switzerland and Austria, is ongoing and expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2026.
“Consequently, the service has established a strict work-plan calendar to ensure this transition is seamless and does not disrupt delivery timelines,” NIS said.
The immigration service, however, advised the public “to disregard speculative narratives capable of creating unnecessary tension,” noting that it remains committed to “equitable service delivery and operational excellence.”
