The Nigerian passport has fallen by 38 places in the global passport ranking in the last 17 years, according to a report by the Henley Passport Index.
The Henley Passport Index ranks passports according to the number of countries their holders can enter without a visa or through a visa-on-arrival scheme.
The report shows that although the Nigerian passport gained 11 more destinations, it fell from 62nd in 2006 to 100th in 2022.
This represents a steady fall in strength among the 199 countries and 227 travel destinations studied, according to The PUNCH quoting the index report.
Nigerian passport currently grants visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 46 countries, a rise from the previous total of 35 countries in 2006.
However, Nigerians are unable to access over 181 travel destinations without a visa, visa-on-arrival, or e-visa arrangement.
Travelers with Nigerian passports can access only 25 countries visa-free, by September 2022.
If visa-on-arrival or e-visa programs are added, the number increases to 46 destinations.
Benin Republic, Burkina Faso, Cameroun, Cape Verde, Chad, Comoros, Côte d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Ethiopia, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Niger, Rwanda, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe offer visa-free, visa-on-arrival and e-visa access to Nigerians as of the time of this report.
Other countries include Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Maldives, Timor-Leste, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, Haiti, Saint Kitts, and Nevis, Suriname, Fiji, Micronesia, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu.
The data used for the Henley Passport Index is provided by the International Air Transport Association.
The data shows a fall or rise in ranking depending on several factors including the country’s efforts to improve border security, modernize its visa procedures and strengthen diplomatic ties with other countries.
Experts, however, believe that the strength of the Nigerian passport is only a reflection of the country's internal challenges.
The spokesperson for Nigeria Immigration Services, NIS, Amos Okpu, was quoted as saying that “This ranking is based on passport admissibility. And that is largely a function of mutual understanding and reciprocity among countries which does not necessarily reflect the true strength of a passport. A good example is the European Union and the ECOWAS.
“While we appreciate the work done by Henley & Partners, we are more concerned with deepening our passport technology to meet up with the standards of the ICAO; ensuring that our passport complies with ICAO guidelines.”
Mr. Okpu noted that “What we put more emphasis on here is our standing in the ICAO. When ICAO alerts us of any lapses with our passports, we get to work.
"Nigeria has been part of the Public Key Directory since 2009 and it took us complying with several passport security specifications to be reflected on that directory."
The Public Key Directory serves as a central storehouse for the exchange of the data necessary to authenticate electronic Machine-Readable Travel Documents including e-Passports, electronic ID cards, and Visible Digital Seals.
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