The Honorable Minister of the Interior is pleased to announce the commencement of the novel verified traveler initiative, meticulously crafted to elevate the security screening procedure for individuals who meet the eligibility criteria.
The esteemed Minister of Interior, Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, conveyed the government’s ongoing commitment to enhancing the security screening process. This endeavor aims to provide travelers with a seamless and efficient screening experience while upholding the highest security standards to safeguard the well-being of Nigerian citizens.During the State House’s Big Interview – Episode 2, hosted
by O’tega Ogra, in Abuja, Dr. Tunji-Ojo provided insights into the ongoing
reforms aimed at transforming the ministry and its agencies. These reforms
encompass prison reforms, enhanced border security, national assets protection,
fair remuneration for personnel, improved emergency responses, and streamlined
immigration processes.
In his opinion, substantial reforms and enhancements have
been implemented, demonstrating the potential to revolutionize critical sectors
that directly influence the nation’s security and operational effectiveness.
He said: The Ministry of Interior is tasked with ensuring
the integrity of citizenship, enhancing internal security, and overseeing
various agencies such as the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCS), Nigerian
Immigration Service (NIS), Federal Fire Service, and National Security and
Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC). Upon assuming our roles last year, we embarked on
a comprehensive assessment of the current state of affairs. As seasoned
professionals, we recognized the importance of thorough planning to facilitate
effective execution. Consequently, we have successfully implemented this
approach across all our agencies.
“Our primary objective was to eliminate the substantial
backlog of over 204,000 passports that we inherited.
We successfully accomplished this task in less than 3 weeks.
We have taken proactive measures to ensure that the passport
backlog becomes a thing of the past and will never recur.
We successfully resolved the issue in under three weeks.
We have effectively eliminated the passport backlog,
ensuring that it will not reoccur. Our automation process, which is divided
into three distinct stages, has been implemented. Regarding our short-term
objectives, we have accomplished the first two. We are currently focused on
achieving the medium-term objective, which is the third stage. The initial
stage, which involves automating the application process, has already
commenced. To date, we have saved the government billions of naira by
automating the document archiving process, eliminating the need for paid
archiving services. Applicants can now conveniently upload their documents
themselves.
“We used to pay N200 per applicant for archiving about 3
million passports a year. That is about N600 million. So we have saved the government that money
and yet it’s even more convenient because people can now do that on their own.”
As per his statement, the necessary steps are being taken to
ensure that the National Identity Service (NIS) is adequately equipped to
commence home delivery of passports to applicants.
“We have moved now to the stage where passports will be
delivered to homes. We has integrated the solution. Everything is already
sorted. The third stage which is the last stage in terms of the automation
process is the ability to go contactless in terms of our passport renewal
process like what we see in other climes. That people find it difficult to
believe will happen is one major challenge for me as the Minister of Interior,”
he said.
Every effort is being made to encourage passengers to submit
their documents in advance, thereby saving time during the travel process.
“You don’t have to go to immigration office to renew your
passport. These are things that you do on your system and you automate the
whole process and all that. When we developed the solution we saw that there
was no data center. one of the first things we listed in our short- long-term
plan was to establish a data centre.
“We have been able to achieve it now to the glory of
God. NIS has a data center which is the
first data center that the service has had in 61 years of existence. So what it
basically means is that the Integrity of the data of Nigerians is within our
control because we take biometric details of people; Nigerians most especially.
We are saddled with the responsibility of warehousing and protecting this data.
Securing this data ensures the sanctity and integrity of the data and that’s
one thing we’ve been able to achieve in Immigration,” Dr. Tuni-Ojo said.
It was mentioned that dedicated screening lines will be made
available at domestic and international checkpoints in the airports to help
alleviate congestion over time.