The Federal Government has issued a directive allowing Nigerians with expired passports, intending to return to the country for the yuletide season, to do so without facing any hindrance.
In a letter dated December 22, 2023, from the Comptroller General of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Wura-Ola Adepoju, addressed to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, through the Office of Assistant Comptroller General, Border Management, the NIS emphasized that Nigerians could “be admitted into the country with their expired Nigerian passports.”
“I am directed to refer to the above subject matter and to inform you that the Federal Government of Nigeria, in its efforts to make life easy for Nigerians in the diaspora, has approved that all Nigerians returning home can be admitted into the country with their expired Nigerian passports. I am further directed to inform airlines coming to Nigeria to allow holders of Nigerian expired passports to board without let.”
While the media aide to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Alkasim Abdulkadir, could not confirm the receipt of the letter, citing his absence from the office, the NIS spokesperson, Dotun Aridegbe, was unreachable at the time of this report.
However, a reliable source within the NIS, requesting anonymity, affirmed that the policy was not a new development, stating that the Federal Government implemented a similar directive last year.