Nigeria Reveals That Digitization of Passports to be Completed in December

Following the federal government’s plan to digitize the passport to avoid citizens from patronizing unscrupulous officials, the FG recently disclosed that the digitization of the passport will be ready in December this year.

This is coming at a time when there have been numerous complaints by Nigerians over the incessant delays in the acquisition of Nigerian passports both within and outside the country.

Also, due to the corruption involved when citizens apply for a passport, in a bid to ensure integrity during the passport administration process, the federal government has made a strategic move to reform the migration of passport applications and payments to digital platforms.

The government had earlier implored applicants to stop patronizing touts and officials directly, rather they should follow the process that they have put in place.

When the digitization of the passport is fully completed, citizens can apply for passports and pay online, as the only engagement they will ever have is with staff for the enrolment of their biometrics.

This was disclosed by the Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola while featuring on a NAN Forum in Abuja. The minister stated that the project was one of the priorities of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.

In his words, “We are on it, and by December we will remove any manual processing of passports. Now, we still have some manual parts, because files are still manually opened.

“By December, particularly in the busiest passport processing centers, there will be no manual segment of the passport processing, every part of it will be digitized.’’

The minister also disclosed that there is no shortage of passport booklets in the country and advised applicants to begin the processing of their passports at least six months before the scheduled time of travel.

In his words, “If you need a passport now, start the process very early, do not begin the processing efforts two weeks before your traveling.

“If you don’t, already you have created problems for yourself, because the system, after capturing, which is the enrolment of your data, we harmonize it with the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) database.’’

He, therefore, urged passport applicants to ensure their names and other information tallies with their details on the National Identity database to avoid issues.

“Every identity document must be the same to ease capturing,” he said, adding that even wrong arrangements of names could create delays in the processing of a passport.

“You must understand what it is. It is a presidential order that the new passport regime should be such that all data and everything about you as an individual must be the same and harmonized.

“What you have in the passport, which is the most secured identity document, must be the same with every other aspect of you, whether in the bank or at the national identity database.

“When you come to us to register, after filling your form online, you come for data capturing, and what you do there is to harmonize what you have filed in your form and your bio-data as we advance.

“So when your name doesn’t tally with what we have, your data information is not the same on the relevant platforms, we will have some challenges with passport processing,” he said.

The collection of passports in the country has been riddled with corruption and incessant delays. The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), whose mandate is to make passports available to Nigerians, acknowledged the pains and empathizes with citizens, both at home and in the diaspora for the unintentional stress they encounter while processing their passports in recent times.

The new digitized passport, which comes with a polycarbonate data page, and additional 25 security features, requires standardized processing procedures including diligent verification of the documents supplied and addresses stated by eligible applicants.

One amazing thing about this is that it ensures the elimination of identity theft, while the online application process addresses the need to considerably reduce all forms of human interference and corruption by touts and unscrupulous personnel.