There are concerns that there will be a shortage of e-passport booklets in the near future. A report by Leadership explains that this issue is caused by the non-payment of production debts to vendors and other stakeholders involved in the travel document value chain.
A source at the passport office at the Nigeria Immigration Service headquarters stated that income paid by passport applicants goes directly to the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) Treasury Single Account (TSA). The NIS is responsible for making payments to all stakeholders involved in the passport value chain. Unfortunately, before the income is received, the federal government takes 50% of the money, leaving the Immigration service with insufficient funds to pay vendors and all stakeholders involved in the passport production process.
The officer explained that, for example, the cost of the 32-page passport booklet outside Nigeria is $132, while the cost of the 64-page category is $230. If an applicant outside Nigeria pays in dollars, the money goes straight into the Federal Account, which is shared amongst the three tiers of government every month by the Federation Account Committee (FAAC).
The officer also confirmed that there is currently a shortage of 32-page booklets across the 48 passport-issuing outlets outside Nigeria and the 44 outlets in the country. The agency presently has the 64-page booklets in excess, but the demand for it is deficient.
The service providers, including Customs Service, DHL and two Nigerian banks, are owed over N16 billion, and printed booklets are stuck in warehouses due to the inability to offset these huge debts. The manufacturing firms based in Slovenia, Malaysia, and another in Malta handling the e-passport projects are yet to be reimbursed in line with the agreement to always make payment two weeks after printing and supplying the e-passports.