The Federal Government of Nigeria has stated that Nigerians will have their passports delivered to them at an address of their choosing starting next year.
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This was stated by Minister of Interior Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo on Monday, while speaking at the opening ceremony of the 2023 University of Lagos International Week.
The passports according to the Minister will be delivered to Nigerians at home, offices, and other places of choice.
The minister stated that Nigerians will soon begin to experience the “sweetness” of the passport application as the ministry has started the automation of the process.
“We have commenced the automation of our end-to-end passport application process, and we have given a timeline from which Nigerians will begin to experience the ‘sweet experience,” he said at the event.
“By implication, Nigerians will not need to wait longer than two weeks before they get their passport.
“By January next year, Nigerians will be able to complete this application process online, and by February next year, with collaboration and partnership with other relevant stakeholders, Nigerians will have their passports delivered to their homes, offices, and other locations of their choice.”
“This, of course, would be extended to our visa application process. We are deploying technology throughout the entire process to make it as seamless as possible. To achieve this, we have set everything into motion to open more visa application centres across the world,” the minister added.
“In this regard, we are also working on strengthening our visa-on-arrival policy. We are working with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to enforce the principle of the doctrine of reciprocity, and a committee has been set up in the ministry to achieve this.”
He also stated that the integrity of travel documents would be restored via data harmonisation.
The minister argued that Nigeria is the only country he knows that has a BVN for the bank, the international passport, the NIN, SIM card registration for telecos, and so on all of which request the persons data.
He added that the integrity of Nigeria’s travel documents must be restored through harmonization of available data.
Nnamdi Maduakor is a Writer, Investor and Entrepreneur
