The federal government created new passport acquisition templates to prevent non-citizens from falsifying or obtaining the documents.
Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, Minister of Interior, announced this in Abuja, saying passports remained a national identification and crucial documentation for all citizens, and its sanctity should be safeguarded.
According to him, the new conditions/templates proposed as requirements for acquiring or renewing passports were implemented to reduce the acquisition of Nigerian passports by non-citizens.
Dr. Tunji-Ojo, who was fielding queries from reporters about the subject, underlined that a passport is a security document only for Nigerian citizens.
He said that the new restrictions would not only prevent non-Nigerians from obtaining the passport, but would also make it difficult to forge the document due to its security features.
He bemoaned that foreigners had taken advantage of the old system’s shortcomings to obtain the necessary documents.
He did, however, acknowledge the obstacles that applicants for the new passport confront, assuring the public that the procedure will be improved in the coming weeks.
Our correspondent learned that new templates, particularly the presentation of a citizenship certificate, date of birth certificate, and National Identification Number (NIN), have become important in determining an applicant’s real citizenship.
Tunji-Ojo noted that the modifications aimed to simplify the passport purchase process for Nigerians by allowing for faster online application, production, and passport collecting.
“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 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,” the Minister stated.
“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,” the Minister added.