Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has attributed the shortage of international passport booklets in the country to the lack of access to foreign currency.
The Comptroller-General of the NIS, Idris Jere, made the statement while speaking at a public hearing organized by an ad-hoc committee of the House of Representatives on Tuesday.
Jere explained that the booklets are imported into the country, and the shortage is due to the “foreign exchange regulation policy of the government and CBN’s refusal to grant access to forex for importation of the booklets.”
He added that although the NIS generates foreign exchange from the sale of passports, they do not have access to buy the same booklet. This, according to Jere, has been a major challenge for the NIS.
Jere further revealed that the inability to set up passport-producing factories in Nigeria is also responsible for the scarcity of passports, as its production is currently done abroad.
“The major seven components used for producing passports are sold in the international market, and the assemblage and production are done in Malaysia,” he said.
The scarcity of international passport booklets has been a cause for concern for many Nigerians who require the document for various reasons, including travel and business. The NIS is, however, working towards finding a solution to the problem.
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