The Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, who
disclosed this in Abuja, said passports remained a national identity and vital
documents to all citizens and its 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, emphasised that 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 frustrate attempts to fake the
document in view of its security features.
He lamented that foreigners have exploited the
inefficiencies of the previous system to acquire the documents.
He however acknowledged challenges faced by applicants for the new passport, assuring the public of an enhanced process in
the coming weeks.
Our correspondent gathered 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
applicant’s true citizenship.
Tunji-Ojo explained that the reforms were aimed at
simplifying the passport acquisition process for Nigerians through facilitating
speedy online application, production, and passport collection.
“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.
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