The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, says the promised automation of the passport application process will begin “in the next one week.”
Tunji-Ojo gave the assurance to Nigerians in an October 4 interview on Channels Television’, saying citizens would be able to use the feature in December.
In a follow-up appearance on Tuesday’s edition of the programme, he stated that the technology was “99 percent new.”
“In fact, we’ve done the testing, and we should be going live in the next week or thereabout. As I said, that will ensure that Nigerians, all they need to do in an immigration centre, a passport centre, is just biometrics, just to take your fingerprints, that’s all,” he said.
Asked if Nigerian nationals would indeed be able to complete their application from the comfort of their homes, Tunji-Ojo replied, “Of course!”
According to him, this would include uploading passport photos and their supporting documents.
“We have gone beyond that. In fact, we’ve gone through it. We would have gone live about two weeks ago, but I saw some errors when they came to do a presentation, and I said, ‘You know this cannot be this,” he said.
“We’re talking about balancing national security as well as convenience. There must be a middle point. You cannot cause discomfort on the basis of enhanced security. You must find a meeting point of both security and comfort.”
The minister also restated his promise that by February 2024, all Nigerian international airports would have e-gates.
“Once you’re Nigerian and you’re coming to Nigeria, you will have no business seeing an immigration officer, except if you’re a person of interest,” he said.
