The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has refuted speculations that it has relocated its Enugu office to Abuja to exclude the South-east from passport issuance in Nigeria.
The NIS spokesperson, Akinsola Akinlabi, refuted the speculations in a statement on Saturday.
There have been speculations circulating on social media which suggested that the NIS authorities removed a passport-producing machine from its office in Enugu State.
The machine was said to be the only one used for the production of international passports in the South-east.
‘Entirely false and gross misrepresentation’
But in the Saturday statement, Mr Akinlabi, a deputy comptroller of immigration, described the speculations as “entirely false and a gross misrepresentation” of the ongoing government reforms to modernise passport administration.
The spokesperson explained that the NIS introduced a “phased onboarding system” to migrate passport offices, including those at foreign missions, to a centralised production framework in Abuja.
“This modernisation effort, which began in 2024, is designed to enhance the efficiency, integrity and security of Nigeria’s passport production system and not exclude any citizen,” he said
He said the NIS, apart from the South-east, has onboarded passport offices in other regions, such as the North-east and North-central states of Borno, Yobe, Benue, Kogi, Nasarawa, Niger, and Plateau.
Mr Akinlabi said that at least 35 international stations spread across Africa, Asia, Europe and South America have also been onboarded.
“Furthermore, scheduled migration for the five South-east states of Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo, and five additional international stations (Italy, Greece, Spain, Switzerland and Austria) is currently ongoing within the first quarter of 2026,” he said.
Continuing, he said: “The Service has established a strict work-plan calendar to ensure this transition is seamless and does not disrupt delivery timelines, as the goal is to drive the process towards greater efficiency.
“The public is therefore advised to disregard speculative narratives capable of creating unnecessary tension, as the Service continues to implement reforms in the overall national interest.”
Reps member reacts
Benjamin Kalu, the deputy speaker of the House of Representatives, has asked residents of the South-east to disregard the speculations.
In a post on his Facebook page on Saturday, Mr Kalu said he was present at a Federal Executive Meeting when the Minister of Interior, Olubumi Tunji-Ojo, made a presentation to President Bola Tinubu about the phased onboarding system.
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“This is the implementation time, and we support the Nigeria Immigration Service and the Ministry of Interior on this latest move,” he said.
The federal lawmaker, who hails from Abia State and represents Bende Federal Constituency in the lower chamber, said the National Assembly has also been “oversighting” the entire process.
“This new approach will serve us better,” he said of the NIS phased onboarding system.
