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The Minister of Interior, Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, has revealed that the era of Passport Control Officers (PCOs) singlehandedly approving passports has come to an end as government sets up a central approval hub to eliminate fraud and delays.
Speaking in Abuja on Thursday at the Sectoral Performance Review Retreat of the ministry, themed “From Plans to Results: Strengthening Institutional Performance in the Ministry of Interior,” Tunji-Ojo said the agencies under his supervision must become truly “front-facing” to deliver outcomes that touch citizens directly.
This, he said, will result in faster passport processing and data harmonisation to prison decongestion, fire service upgrades, and better security deployment.
Tunji-Ojo lamented corruption that had plagued the nation’s passport regime, recounting how a Ugandan citizen bought a Nigerian passport for $1,000 and used it to travel freely.
He said such cases embarrassed the country internationally and undermined the credibility of its travel documents.
“There was a time a Ugandan came into Nigeria and, without any rightful claim to citizenship, he bought a Nigerian passport for $1,000. He used that passport to travel. That is how bad the situation had become — when foreigners could purchase our passports like items on the shelf,” Tunji-Ojo said.
He explained that the practice was sustained by weak oversight and excessive discretion in the hands of Passport Control Officers (PCOs), which created room for racketeering. According to him, the ongoing reform, especially the plan to centralise passport approval, will end such abuses.
“The issue of passport approval, we will need to remove that power from PCOs if we want it to work. That is why we are setting up a central passport approval centre with well-trained officers working in shifts. This way, cases of racketeering and foreigners buying Nigerian passports will no longer be possible.
“We are setting up a passport approval centre. We will have about 200 officers that will be well-trained, they will do shifts — eight hours each,” he explained.
He stated that the ministry will no longer be judged by plans or policies on paper but by results that Nigerians can feel in their everyday lives.
Tunji-Ojo explained that the retreat was an important opportunity to take stock of the progress made so far, re-examine the challenges facing the ministry and its agencies, and develop strategies for achieving results that would be both measurable and visible to the public.
He said the Renewed Hope administration expects nothing less than a public service that is efficient, transparent, and effective, adding that the Ministry of Interior must lead the way in demonstrating that governance is not about promises but about outcomes that citizens can testify to.
He noted that the ministry is a critical gateway into the Nigeria, from the immigration counters at the airports to correctional facilities, as well as the civil defence personnel stationed in communities, and the fire service units deployed across the country.
The ministry and its agencies, he said, constitute the frontline of service delivery.
The minister listed the ‘2025 High Impact Deliverables’ of the ministry to include reforms aimed at making international passport issuance and renewal faster, more transparent, and citizen-friendly.
He noted that the target is to significantly reduce the turnaround time for passport and visa processing, in line with the executive orders of the President on ease of doing business and promotion of tourism.
“My target… in one week after you enrol for your passport, you get your passport. That is where we are going, and that is the standard Nigerians should hold us to.
“With the new executive order, we are determined to cut down delays. Visa approval should not take more than 48 hours. That is our benchmark, because efficiency in visa processing is key for business and tourism.”
He also spoke of plans to harmonise all citizens’ data into a single national database, saying that the move would eliminate the inefficiencies and frustrations that arise from the multiplicity of identity verification systems currently in operation.
He stressed that data integration will improve citizen experience: “One of the things we spoke about when we were doing the High Impact Deliverables was the harmonisation of citizen data into a single national database. We must ensure the authentication and verification of NIN services across MDAs. This is crucial, because the efforts to decongest custodial centres and even make passports seamless depend on effective implementation of data harmonisation.
“Sometimes government keeps doing whatever it’s doing without realising that the end result is for citizens to feel it. One of the legacies we want is for Nigerians to say: ‘Oh, while President Tinubu was president, our passports were issued in two days.’ That is the kind of impact data harmonisation and centralisation should make.”
He also spoke of strengthening the capacity of the Nigerian Correctional Service to decongest overcrowded centres, modernising the operations of the Federal Fire Service through the deployment of cutting-edge technology, and equipping the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps to better protect critical national infrastructure.
He said, “The issue of decongestion, we need to put all hands on deck to support you through access to faster judicial process. There are so many people awaiting trial in detention. What do you need to do to reduce that? This is an integral part of inter-agency collaboration. You are just keeping them — it is really not you. Whoever they bring, you host. But we need to get the Ministry of Justice, the judiciary, and state governors to consciously ensure we decongest the prisons, because a lot of the custodial centres are overpopulated beyond reason and a lot of people there are awaiting trial.”
On fire service reform and licensing private firefighters, Tunji-Ojo stressed that firefighting should no longer be the sole responsibility of government and announced that the ministry was preparing to introduce a licensing regime for private companies.
“We are at the final stage of reforming the Fire Service. It will not be business as usual. Very soon, we will have licensed private firefighting companies, just the way we have private guard companies. This will improve response time, expand coverage, and reduce over-reliance on government fire trucks that are often overstretched.
“Fire protection is a critical service. Government alone cannot do it. If we license private firefighting firms, they will complement the Federal Fire Service and ensure that both public and private assets are better protected. Just as private guards now work alongside civil defence, licensed firefighters will raise standards in emergency response.”
Earlier in her goodwill message, Hadiza Bala Usman, Special Adviser to the President on Policy and Coordination and head of the Central Delivery Coordination Unit (CDCU), praised Tunji-Ojo for his passion and commitment since assuming office, describing him as a true reflection of the Renewed Hope agenda.
She recalled that she had reviewed his curriculum vitae prior to his appointment and had been convinced that he would excel in the role. Since then, she said, his performance had demonstrated that the ministry could indeed become an engine for reform and service delivery.
Usman said the ultimate measure of government performance lies not in policies drafted or budgets passed but in the real, lived experiences of ordinary citizens.
She said too often, government agencies carry on their work without remembering that their mandate is to ease the lives of the people. She gave the example of her own experience when she attempted to port her mobile line from one network provider to another but was unable to do so for two months due to a failure of the National Identity Number (NIN) verification system.
“It shouldn’t take that long,” she said, adding that such inefficiencies may appear technical but they directly frustrate citizens. She argued that reforms in the Interior Ministry must be aimed at eliminating such pain points.
“One of the legacies we must leave behind is for citizens to say: during President Tinubu’s time, passports were issued in two days. That is the kind of testimonial that matters. Let citizens feel it,” she noted.
The presidential aide also highlighted the centrality of the Interior Ministry to national security. She pointed out that while the ministry had commendable initiatives in place, certain critical challenges needed to be addressed urgently.
She said one was the misuse of security personnel, particularly the practice of deploying police and civil defence officers trained for counter-terrorism or frontline operations to protect VIPs. She described this practice as counterproductive and a waste of limited security resources.
According to her, the solution lies in the amendment of the Private Guards Act, which would enable licensed private security companies to take over the responsibility of VIP protection.
She noted that such companies could be structured to absorb retired police and military personnel, thereby not only reducing the burden on active security agencies but also creating employment opportunities for veterans.
“We cannot have police trained for anti-terrorism deployed to guard VIPs in Ikoyi. That is wrong. If you need such protection, pay a licensed private security company,” she said.
Usman revealed that she had personally reported cases where anti-terrorism squads had been seen providing protection for private individuals in affluent neighbourhoods, saying that such anomalies must be corrected if the country is serious about strengthening its security architecture.
She further observed that the same misuse was being extended to the Civil Defence Corps, with some VIPs now lobbying for civil defence personnel as private guards. This, she said, was equally unacceptable. In her view, the Interior Ministry must move decisively to “flush out” all practices that divert police and civil defence officers from their constitutional duties to private service. She maintained that such reforms would free up much-needed manpower to tackle pressing national security concerns while also promoting professionalism in the security sector.
On Nigerian Correctional Service, Usman drew attention to the problem of congestion in custodial centres, most of which are filled far beyond capacity.
She explained that the majority of inmates are persons awaiting trial, a situation she described as untenable. She called for a collaborative approach involving the Ministry of Justice, the judiciary, and state governments to fast-track access to justice and reduce the number of awaiting-trial inmates. She also recommended the harmonisation of correctional service biometric data with the NIN database, saying that such integration would strengthen rehabilitation processes and improve monitoring.
The presidential aide also noted the strides being made in other areas of the ministry, such as the deployment of advanced technology for fire prevention and disaster management, the strengthening of the Civil Defence Corps’ capacity through structured recruitment and training, and the expansion of special units like the Mine Marshals and Agro Rangers to tackle illegal mining and protect farmlands.
She said the initiatives must be backed by sustainable budgetary planning. According to her, it is not enough to announce recruitment targets or new deployments without presenting clear frameworks showing how such programmes would be funded in the long term.
She said the government must avoid situations where personnel are recruited without adequate provision for their welfare, training, or equipment, as this would only weaken institutional capacity.
Usman challenged the Interior Ministry to use the retreat as an opportunity to bring forward bold and transformative reform ideas. She assured that President Tinubu was fully prepared to provide political support and funding for initiatives that would fundamentally change the operations of the ministry and its agencies.
“This regime does not shy away from reforms. Any initiative that will fundamentally change the Interior Ministry or its agencies should be tabled. The President is fully in support of bold reforms,” she said, adding that the administration would not hesitate to back ambitious programmes that could transform citizen services and align the ministry with global best practices.
She added that the performance review process being conducted by the CDCU had already assessed the ministry’s deliverables for the first two quarters of 2025, with a consolidated report soon to be presented to the President.
The presidential aide said the unit was ready to continue working with the Interior Ministry to track milestones, review bottlenecks, and support inter-agency collaboration that would ensure the ministry’s deliverables have a direct positive impact on Nigerians.
