The Nigerian Embassy in Doha, Qatar, has commenced the distribution of newly produced passports to applicants following a passport intervention exercise conducted from August 11 to 21.

A total of 751 Nigerian nationals were attended to during the exercise, comprising 441 applicants for five-year passports and 310 applicants seeking 10-year passports.

The embassy said distribution of the newly produced passports commenced on September 18, less than a month after the conclusion of the intervention exercise.

Nigeria’s Ambassador to Qatar, Mahmood Yakubu, told *The Peninsula* that the development reflected the embassy’s commitment to improving service delivery and responding promptly to the needs of Nigerians in the country.

“This is a significant milestone for our Embassy and, most importantly, for Nigerians living in Qatar. The fact that passports are now being completed and returned within about two weeks of capture demonstrates our commitment to improving service delivery and responding to the needs of our community,” the envoy was quoted as saying.

Yakubu noted that passports remain essential documents for Nigerians, particularly for international travel, employment, residency and other official requirements.

“We recognise the importance of passports to our citizens, particularly for international travel, employment, residency and other official requirements. We will continue to work to ensure that Nigerians receive the services they need in a timely and transparent manner,” he said.

Passport intervention exercises are routinely organised by the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) to address backlogs involving new applications, renewals and other pending passport cases.

The NIS also said an ongoing passport intervention exercise in the United Kingdom has enrolled more than 5,000 applicants.