The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has explained why there is a delay in the issuance of passports to Nigerians in the last two years. The spokesperson of the NIS, Amos Okpu, said the COVID-19 pandemic was a major setback in the production and processing of the travelling document. Mr Okpu made this known during a Premium Times’ Twitter spaces on Wednesday.

Mr Okpu added that some of the materials used for the production of the passports are not sourced from the country due to inadequate technology.

As part of efforts to ensure that passports are distributed, he said officers of the service now work on weekends to make sure the backlog is being cleared.