By Pathfinder Reporter
Thursday January 25, 2024
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The Federal Government said that it has designed new templates for the acquisition of passports to block noncitizens from faking or acquiring the documents.
The Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, who disclosed this in Abuja on Wednesday, said that passports remained a national identity and vital documents to all citizens and their sanctity should be well protected.
According to him the new conditions/templates introduced as prerequisites for obtaining or renewing passports were instituted to curb the acquisition of Nigerian passports by non-citizens.
Dr. Tunji-Ojo, who was fielding questions from reporters on the issue, emphasized that a passport is a security document exclusive to Nigerian citizens.
He explained that the new conditions would not only impede non-Nigerians from acquiring the passport but also frustrate attempts to fake the document given its security features.
He said that foreigners have exploited the inefficiencies of the previous system to acquire the documents.
The minister regretted the challenges faced by applicants for the new passport, assuring the public of an enhanced process in the coming weeks.
Further check revealed that new templates, especially the provision of a citizenship certificate, date of birth certificate and the National Identification Number (NIN) have become critical in verifying an applicant’s true citizenship.
Tunji-Ojo explained that the reforms were aimed at simplifying the passport acquisition process for Nigerians by facilitating speedy online application, production, and passport collection.
“We have to introduce this new system to stop those non-Nigerians carrying Nigerian passports. Contrary to reports, the new process is working very effectively and the hiccups recorded are only 4 percent, which is a 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 a passport is a security document. This new system has improved accessibility, transparency, and efficiency,” the Minister stated.
“We are building a future for Nigerians where things should be done in a better way. We changed the price of a 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,” the Minister added.
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