By Garba Abdullahi Bagwai, in Kano
The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has dismissed claims that the transfer of passport production from Kano to Abuja is politically motivated, describing the move as part of the Federal Government’s nationwide reform of visa and passport issuance.
Speaking with journalists in Kano on Wednesday, the spokesperson of the Kano State Command of the Nigeria Immigration Service, DSI Mohammed Auwal Hassan, said the exercise is a national policy aimed at centralising passport personalisation in line with international best practices.
He explained that before the end of the year, all passport production centres across the country would be integrated into the new Centralised Passport Personalisation Centre at the NIS Headquarters in Abuja.
According to him, the new system will replace passport production at multiple centres with a single centralised facility, a practice adopted in many developed countries.
DSI Hassan noted that the initiative would improve uniformity, strengthen security features and enhance the global integrity and credibility of Nigerian passports.
He said the implementation is being carried out nationwide in five phases and is not targeted at Kano State.
“The first phase commenced in January 2025, covering the North Central states, while the second phase began in March 2025 and included the South-East, South-West, as well as Nigeria’s passport offices in Italy and Australia,” he said.
He added that the third phase, implemented in June 2026, involved the closure of passport production centres in Edo, Benin, Auchi, Asaba, as well as Nigeria’s passport offices in France, Germany and Belgium.
According to him, the fourth phase, scheduled to commence on August 10, will relocate passport production centres in Kano, Kaduna, Dutse, Gombe and Adamawa to the centralised passport personalisation facility at the NIS Headquarters in Abuja.
DSI Hassan said the new arrangement would significantly reduce passport processing time, as the newly installed high-capacity machines at the Abuja centre are capable of producing at least 10,000 passports daily.
He, however, reassured applicants that all passport enrolment processes, including screening, biometric data capture and documentation, would continue at the two existing passport offices in Kano.
“There is no need for applicants to travel to Abuja. Only passport production has been centralised, while all application and enrolment procedures will continue to be carried out in Kano,” he said.
