Nigerians living in the United States are facing serious difficulties renewing their passports due to a major technical glitch in the National Identification Number (NIN) portal, leaving many stranded and frustrated.
According saharareporters, the Consulate General of Nigeria in New York, Abubakar Jidda, has said that Nigerians are unable to renew their passports because the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) is upgrading the NIN portal from a weaker software to a stronger one.
He stated this while speaking at a town hall meeting for Nigerians in New York, held virtually, today, July 25, monitored by SaharaReporters.
“In respect to the NIN issue, we have reached out to the NIMC and we understand that the software of the NIN is being upgraded from a weaker software to a stronger software.”
He further stated that there was no timeline on when the portal would be restored.
“There is no timeline yet on when the portal will be back,” he noted.
Abubakar also acknowledged that many Nigerians who do not have up-to-date passports and are unable to renew them have been taken into custody by the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
“We are aware that many Nigerians need to renew their passports especially due to the activities of the ICE and we are aware that Nigerians unable to renew their passports and who do not have up-to-date passports have been taken into custody.”
“We are taking steps to further ensure that this situation is resolved and we are putting more pressure on the NIMC,” he stated at the townhall meeting monitored by SaharaReporters.
He further stated that the country was taken aback when the United States announced a single-entry visa policy for Nigerians but hopes the decision would be reversed.
“We have engaged the United States in conversations as they did not engage us before reaching the decision and we hope that the move will be overturned soon.”
He also flayed the introduction of e-visas as being perceived as targeting Americans, stating that e-visas were only introduced to improve visa processing efficiency.
Passport renewal challenges affect not only Nigerians in New York but also those in other countries.
SaharaReporters earlier reported that more than 500 Nigerians living in Qatar had been left stranded and frustrated after the Nigerian Embassy in Doha collected over N315,000 (750 Qatari Riyals) from each person for passport renewal but failed to deliver the service five months later.
The affected nationals, some of whom spoke to SaharaReporters under the condition of anonymity for fear of victimisation, described the embassy’s conduct as “a big scam” and “official fraud against helpless citizens abroad.”
One of the affected Nigerians recounted how the embassy, after years of failing to provide passport renewal services in Qatar, finally announced in February 2025 that it had brought immigration officials from Nigeria to handle the backlog of expired passports.
“My friends and I have been living in Qatar for long. The Nigerian Embassy here did not previously offer passport renewals, which was affecting the nationals living here. So after several pleas, the embassy later brought immigration personnel to do the renewal for us because many Nigerians were here with expired passports,” the source told SaharaReporters.
“So they came in February 2025 and announced on the platform that those whose passports had expired should come for renewal at the Nigerian Embassy, that the immigration was around.”
