Nigeria will extend its contactless passport renewal services to the UK, US, Italy, and France, by January, as announced by Interior Minister Tunji-Ojo. This initiative is part of a wider effort to enhance the country’s passport renewal process.
During an interview with ARISE NEWS on Wednesday, Tunji-Ojo discussed the significant backlog that had affected the passport issuance system, which included over 200,000 pending applications. He explained that the process had been overhauled to address this issue, including implementing measures to close various loopholes.
One such measure was the mandatory requirement for individuals to upload their breeder documents, which previously cost the government approximately N600 million annually for scanning and uploading. Tunji-Ojo emphasized the importance of full automation to eliminate these inefficiencies and prevent excesses in the system.
The contactless passports, already in use in Canada, represent a phased approach to the rollout, Tunji-Ojo explained, stating, “You don’t launch a project of that magnitude all over at the same time.
“There will be what we call the system shock, and once there is a system shock, it erodes the benefit that you aim to be able to do.”
Furthermore, he stated, “By January, by the grace of God, we plan to extend this to four or five other countries,” including the UK, the US, Italy, and France. The Interior Minister also mentioned the pilot expansion to Lagos, Abuja, Rivers, and Kano. He noted that after these locations are operating smoothly, the initiative would be rolled out across the entire country.
“We’re just trying to be project management smart,” he added.
Tunji-Ojo also highlighted Nigeria’s pioneering role in adopting this technology, countering critics who downplayed the initiative by comparing it to previous efforts. He emphasised, “This particular government is not in competition with anybody. What’s most important is the well-being of Nigerians.”
On the requirement of a certificate of origin for passport applications, the Minister emphasised the importance of maintaining the integrity of Nigerian passports. He stated, “We must make passports easy to collect, but we must understand that a passport is beyond a travel document,” emphasising that it’s also a security document.
He said, “The embarrassment that we get as a country by people who are not Nigerians carrying Nigerian passports is out of this world.
“Most of the crimes that they say Nigerians are committing abroad, I say this clearly, a lot of them are not Nigerians. They are carrying Nigerian passport.”
Tunji-Ojo also highlighted the importance of establishing a comprehensive database. He noted that the current administration did not inherit any data, which necessitated the current efforts to build a robust database from scratch. He assured that individuals would only need to upload their breeder documents once in their lifetime, streamlining future renewals. These steps are essential to sanitise and modernise the passport issuance system, he explained.
Frances Ibiefo
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