NIS introduces additional requirements also to stop passport forgery
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Additional requirements have been introduced by the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) to weed out foreigners and ensure only citizens obtain Nigerian passport according to Bunmi Tunji-Ojo.
That new conditions include provision of a citizenship certificate, date of birth certificate, and National Identification Number (NIN) to confirm an applicant is a genuine Nigerian citizen.
The Interior Minister, who disclosed this in Abuja, reiterated a passport remains a national identity and a vital document for all citizens and its sanctity should be strongly protected.
He said the new prerequisites for obtaining or renewing passport are meant to curb the acquisition of Nigerian passport by non-citizens as passport is a security document exclusive to Nigerians.
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Facilitating speedy online passport process
Tunji-Ojo explained the reforms are aimed at simplifying passport acquisition by Nigerians through facilitating speedy online application, production, and passport collection – and to frustrate ability to fake the document through its security features, per reporting by The Nation.
Said he: “We have to introduce this new system in order to stop those non-Nigerians carrying Nigerian passports.
“Contrary to reports, the new process is working very effectively and hiccups recorded is only 4 per cent, which is significant improvement for a system that is newly introduced and I assure you that in the next one or two weeks we will have a near perfect system.
“We have to improve our process of obtaining passports because passport is a security document. This new system has improved accessibility, transparency and efficiency.
“We are building a future for Nigerians where things should be done in a better way. We changed the price of five-year passport because the 10-year passport is N70, 000; so, the one for five years should be half of that amount, which is N35,000.
“We are committed to making things better in our country.”
