Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, announced on Tuesday that the automation of Nigeria’s passport application process is on the verge of completion, reaching 99 percent. In an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today, he disclosed that the automated system would be operational within a week.
Once implemented, Nigerians will only need to visit immigration centers for fingerprint biometrics, as the new system allows citizens to upload passport photos and supporting documents from the comfort of their homes. Tunji-Ojo affirmed the progress, stating, “We gave a date — December 2023. We are 99 per cent done. In fact, we have done the testing, and we should be going live in the next week or thereabouts.”
“This will ensure that what Nigerians need to do at an immigration centre is just fingerprint biometrics.
“Everything regarding pre-biometrics will be done in the comfort of your homes, including uploading passport photographs and supporting documents.
“They will have gone live about two weeks ago but I saw some errors when they came to do the presentation and I said no. We were talking about balancing national security and convenience.”
In the interview, the minister also disclosed that e-gate systems would be installed at international airports in the country by February 2024.
“By February, all our international airports will have e-gates
“Once you are a Nigerian coming to Nigeria, you have no business seeing an immigration officer except if you are a person of interest,” he disclosed.
