The Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Interior, Dr. Shuaib Belgore, stated that at least 159 Nigerians have renounced their citizenship in 2022.
Belgore disclosed this at the Presidential Villa, Abuja when he accompanied the Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, who was a guest on the weekly Ministerial Briefing, hosted by the Presidential Communication Team.
According to Belgore, 150 Nigerians renounced their citizenship between 2006 to 2021.
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Aregbesola said the massive exodus of Nigerians in search of greener pastures is fueling high demands for passports.
According to him, the Nigeria Immigration Service processed and issued at least 9.31 million passports from 2015 to 2022.
He disclosed that in 2022, the Immigration Service issued the highest number of passport booklets totaling 1,899,683 in over seven years.
The breakdown showed that in 2015, 2016 and 2017, the service processed and issued 941,995, 1,035,668 and 1,136,855 passports respectively.
In 2018, 2019 and 2020, it processed 1,242,953 and 780,047 passports respectively. While 1,056,422 and 1,899,683 passports were processed and issued in 2021 and 2022, respectively.
