Odita Sunday 
The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has dismissed reports suggesting that a particular region of the country has been excluded from passport issuance, describing such claims as false and misleading.
In a statement issued on February 7, 2026, the Service Public Relations Officer, DCI A.S. Akinlabi, said the report was a gross misrepresentation of ongoing reforms in passport administration.
“The report claiming that a specific region has been disqualified from passport issuance is entirely false and misleading,” Akinlabi stated.
He explained that the Service had introduced a phased onboarding system to modernise passport production nationwide.
“We have adopted a phased onboarding system to migrate passport offices, including those in foreign missions, to a centralised production framework,” he said.
According to him, the reform, which began in 2024, is aimed at improving efficiency, integrity and security.
“This modernisation effort is designed to enhance efficiency and security, not to exclude any citizen,” Akinlabi added.
He disclosed that passport offices in Borno, Yobe, Benue, Kogi, Nasarawa, Niger and Plateau, as well as 35 international stations, had already been onboarded.
Akinlabi further revealed that offices in the five South-East states and additional foreign missions were currently being migrated.
“The scheduled migration of Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo states, as well as stations in Italy, Greece, Spain, Switzerland and Austria, is ongoing,” he said.
He urged the public to ignore unverified reports.
“We advise Nigerians to disregard speculative narratives capable of creating unnecessary tension,” he stated.
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