159 Nigerians Renounce Citizenship in 2022, According to the Interior Ministry
At least 159 Nigerians have surrendered their citizenship in 2022, according to Dr. Shuaib Belgore, the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Interior.
When accompanying Interior Minister Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola to the weekly Ministerial Briefing, sponsored by the Presidential Communication Team, at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, Belgore revealed this.
Between 2006 and 2021, 150 Nigerians, according to Belgore, abandoned their nationality.
Aregbesola claimed that the widespread emigration of Nigerians in quest of better lands is driving up demand for passports.
He claims that between 2015 and 2022, the Nigeria Immigration Service processed and issued at least 9.31 million passports.
He revealed that the Immigration Service issued 1,899,683 passport booklets in 2022, the most in more than seven years.
According to the breakdown, the service issued and processed 941,995, 1,035,668, and 1,136,855 passports in 2015, 2016 and 2017, respectively.
It processed 1,242,953 and 780,047 passports in 2018 and 2019, respectively.
While in 2021 and 2022, respectively, 1,056,422 and 1,899,683 passports were processed and issued.
