Reports say that the increase in passenger and aircraft movements to international destinations has triggered a higher demand for Nigeria’s passport booklets.
More Nigerians are travelling out of the country, resulting in a high demand for the country’s passports.
A data obtained from the National Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies (NANTA) showed that 16, 371, 674 passengers travelled out of the country in 2018, representing an increase of about three million passengers or 19.4 per cent, compared to 13, 706, 347 passengers who did in 2017.
The data revealed that from April to June 2019 alone, the country recorded outbound movements of 543, 624 passengers compared to inbound movements of 502, 851.
The Nigerian Immigration Services (NIS), it was learnt, generated revenues from passports amounting to N39.06 billion in 2018, as against N35.72 billion in 2017. This represents an increase of nine per cent.
A senior NIS official said that the old passport booklet was in higher demand than the new one because many Nigerians have not met the criterion for obtaining the new passport booklet.
Under a new policy rolled out by the federal government to encourage more Nigerians to apply for the national identity card, applicants for Nigerian passport must furnish the NIS with their National Identification Number (NIN), which can only be obtained when an applicant completes the process for applying for the national identity card with the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC).
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