Ojo Clears Air On Obtaining, Renewing Passports

The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, has explained the rationale behind the Federal Government’s introduction of new prerequisites for obtaining or renewing international passports.

The Minister who stated this in Abuja while responding to questions from newsmen, emphasized that the passport is a security document exclusive to Nigerian citizens.

According to the Minister, the new conditions would impede non-Nigerians from acquiring the passport, revealing that foreigners have exploited the inefficiencies of the previous system.

Dr Tunji-Ojo acknowledged the challenges faced by new passport applicants and assured the public of an enhanced process in the coming weeks.

The new conditions, including 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.

Dr Tunji-Ojo also noted that the reform was aimed at simplifying the passport acquisition process for Nigerians by 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 a 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.

The Minister outlined plans for contactless biometrics in passport renewal, affirming the government’s commitment to building a better future for Nigerians at home and in the diaspora.

Speaking on the change in cost for the 5-year passport, the Minister, however explained that the new cost was agreed on to taking a cue from the cost of the 10-year passport.

“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 said.

Nkiru Njemanze, Edited By Grace Namiji