Interior Ministry Inaugurates New Passport Front Office

T The Minister of Interior, Hon. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, on Tuesday, announced the inauguration of a new Passport Front Office under the Ministry of Interior, marking a significant milestone in ongoing efforts to reform passport issuance in Nigeria.

The inauguration ceremony was graced by key officials, including the Minister of Water Resources, Engr. Prof. Joseph Terlumun Utsev, and the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Jumoke Oduwole, who was represented at the event.

Providing background on the new initiative, Tunji-Ojo stated: “Earlier today, I was joined by the Minister of Water Resources, Engr. Prof. Joseph Terlumun Utsev; Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Jumoke Oduwole, who was represented to inaugurate the Ministry of Interior Passport Front Office.”

The minister explained that until recently, despite the Ministry of Interior’s supervisory role over the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), it lacked a dedicated front office for staff to access passport services conveniently.

“When we came on board two years ago, we noticed that our Ministry, despite being the supervisory ministry to the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), did not have a passport front office where our staff could easily access the service. We took it upon ourselves to change the story,” he said.

He highlighted that the new office, established at no cost to the federal government, was delivered through a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative by Iris Smart Technologies Limited, a technical partner of the ministry.

“Today, at no cost to the government, we commissioned the Front Office, a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative from our technical partner, Iris Smart Technologies Limited.”

The latest facility brings the number of passport front offices in Nigeria to 14. The minister also used the opportunity to reflect on broader passport reforms under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's administration, which he described as "unprecedented."

“It is important to note that over the past two years, the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led government has continued to record unprecedented progress across board.”

Highlighting one of the major transformations, he said: “In retrospect, two years ago, we met a dual passport regime where Nigerians were divided by the type of passport they carry. While some were holders of the old Harmonised Passport, others were carrying the Enhanced Passport.”

“Today, we have moved past that as a nation, and now have a single passport regime where everyone can obtain the Enhanced Passport across the country and in the diaspora.”

He revealed that the number of centres producing Enhanced Passports has significantly increased, both in Nigeria and abroad.

“In 2023, our administration met about 26 passport production centres producing the Enhanced Passport in Nigeria with only 5 locations in the diaspora with similar capacity.”


“Two years later, through our intervention and the generous support of Mr President, we moved from around 26 to over 40 centres in Nigeria and from about 5 to over 45 locations in the diaspora —all aligned to issue only the Enhanced version in our bid to establish a single passport regime we now celebrate.”

The reforms have also improved passport availability and saved government resources.

“What used to be a scarce document is now readily available. And, in just two years, we have issued about 3.5 million passports to Nigerians at home and abroad —saving the government over a billion naira annually.”

Tunji-Ojo concluded by celebrating the digital advancements made in the passport process.

“Today, we are ahead of trends as contactless application is now available globally. For us, we are proud that the #RenewedHope government has brought passport acquisition closer to the people.”