FG generated N39bn from passport issuance, others in 12 months

The Nigerian Immigration Services generated a total of N39.06bn through the issuance of passports and other services within the 2018 fiscal period.

The figure is contained in a report on the activities of the agency which was released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Friday.

The NBS in the report said the amount generated by NIS in 2018 represents an increase of 9.34 per cent over the N35.72bn local revenue generated in 2017.

In terms of passport application, the report stated that a total of 1,011,158 passport applications were received in 2018 as against 720,958 received in 2017.

This, according to the report represents an increase of about 40.25 per cent when compared to the 2017 application figure.

It explained that 173,461 of the 2018 application figure of 1,011,158, were minor, 779,905 were adults, while the remaining 57,792 are senior citizens.

The report reads in part, “The Immigration statistics for 2018 reflected that a total of 1,011,158 passport applications were received in 2018 as against 720,958 received in 2017.

“This represents about 40.25 per cent positive growth. 173,461 of the 2018 figure are minor, 779,905 are adults and the remaining 57,792 are senior citizens.”

The report said a total of 185,657 passports were issued at the foreign missions in 2018 as against 152,163 issued in 2017 while the number of visa issuance at the foreign missions was put at 120,697.

In terms of international travelers, the NBS report said about 4,529,153 international trips were recorded across all Nigeria borders in 2018 as against 3,715,268 in 2017.

-The Punch