Dele Dina
31 October 2007
The harmonised ECOWAS Smart electronic passport issued by the Nigerian Immigrations Service is powered by biometric technology in tandem with the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) specifications for international travels.
Travellers' data captured in the biometric passport can be accessed instantly and read by any security agent from any spot of the globe through an integrated network of systems configured and linked to a centrally-coordinated passport data bank managed by the Nigerian Immigrations Service.
The e-passport is supported by a powerful data base that ensures data claims verifiability from any point of entry or departure. The traveller's identity can be ascertained and any ambiguity arising from identity problems addressed with dispatch. Nigeria is the first country in Africa to acquire the e-passport technology and among the first five nations of the world to adopt the biometric technology to the delight of International Migration Experts and security agents worldwide.
The Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Immigration Service, Mr John Chukwumah Ude, OFR, has assured Nigerian international travellers that gone is the era when the Nigerian travellers is singled out and subjected to nauseating and harrowing experiences by security agents. Holders of the e-passport are treated with dignity and respect.
According to the Comptroller-General, the beauty of the e-passport is the inherent potential of the travelling document to eliminate forgery, passport falsification, multiple acquisition of passports and make identity theft by unscrupulous elements in the society an impossibility. Unlike in the past, the process for the issuance of e-passport is completely devoid of cash transactions involving immigration officers. The procedure reduces human interface but rather increases interactive synergy with computers and internet service providers.
Today, every procedural input for the e-passport is strictly online while payment for the NIS pay card which contains the personal identification numbers of subscribers is handled by accredited banks. Applicants for the e-passport need to appear in person at passport offices only on the date generated online for their interviews and photo acquisition. The machine readable passport which will run concurrently with the eÂ-passport up to the year 2010 when it will cease to be valid as travelling document for Nigerians had in the past been subjected to various forms of abuses which had negatively impacted on the credibility and integrity of Nigerian travellers.
E-Passport administration
Nigeria Immigration Service launched the e-passport to the Nigerian public on July 27, 2007 when the Comptroller-General of Nigeria Immigration Service, Mr J. C. Ude issued the first citizen of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Alhaji Umaru Yar'Adua with the e-passport at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Since then, the Nigeria Immigration Service has rolled out several public enlightenment and mass education to create awareness and sensitise the Nigerian public on the procedural requirements for obtaining the eÂ-passport. The campaign for the e-passport was invigorated across all available media spectrum, spanning the print, electronic and outdoor media.
This is expected of new product launch in line with the principle of transparency, probity and accountability, everything about the e-passport was done in the open. The standard passport (green) for instance costs N8, 750.00, the official passport costs N4,000.00 while diplomatic (red) is issued ex-gratis. The passports can be acquired only by the purchase of NIS pay card from any of the following accredited banks, UBA, Zenith, Afribank or Sterling Bank Plc. The form for the e-passport can be accessed and completed online at Immigration website www.imigration.gov.ng.
Rush for e-passport and logistics
The reactions of Nigerian travellers to the e-passport were expectedly spontaneous as they besieged the Nigerian Immigration passport offices in Abuja and Lagos to replace their machine-readable passports despite assurance that the MRP is still valid up to 2010. The rush and stampede for e-passport put unnecessary pressure on systems and human resources, consequently creating the impression of systems inefficiency and human resources inadequacy.
The response of NIS was logical; it created a shift for officers in Abuja and Lagos passport offices to work round the clock in order to meet exigent demands for e-passport. Today, over 3,000 e-passports have been produced and awaiting collection in Lagos passport offices alone.
To ease the pressure, the Comptroller-General of Immigration personally commissioned rollout of e-passport in Kano, Port Harcourt and Ibadan passport offices within two months of product launch with the assurance that before July 2008, all passport offices in Nigeria and Nigerian missions abroad will be in a position to issue the e-passport to Nigerians. In addition, the physically-challenged individuals will henceforth enjoy the benefit of photo acquisition and interviews in the comfort of their personal homes through the mobile passport office recently introduced.
E-Passport and national economy
The e-passport has effectively plugged all loopholes for wastage, inefficiency, corruption and touting. Before the introduction of the e-passport, revenue that should accrue to government was lost due to the following:
a. Outright theft and pilferage of public money
b. Archaic and mundane record systems failure
c. Manual checks and control systems failure
d. Collusion with touts to defraud government
e. Manual internal auditing systems failure
The e-passport regime has enthroned probity, accountability, transparency and effectiveness in the collection and rendition of government revenue. Barely three months of introduction, the Nigeria Immigration Service has realised over N2 billion from issuance of e-passport. It's remarkable too that e-passport which can be obtained within 72 hours of photo acquisition is the fastest and cheapest in the world today.
E-Passport and criticism
Uninformed criticism of the e-passport emanates principally from disgruntled individuals who want business to continue as usual to satisfy their egocentric and chauvinistic needs. Notable among the criticisms against NIS is that Nigerians are not computer literate and lack the education to meet the online processing for e-passport. Today, it's salutary to note that in every family, there is a literate individual member or family friend that could assist such people in addition to business centres that are willing to provide such services to the educationally-disadvantaged.
The criticism of cumbersomeness and arbitrariness of procedure and demand for unnecessary personal details and requirement stipulated for issuance, in particular, the guarantor's clause should not be construed as constituting procedural bottlenecks but should be seen as safety valves that ensure that the Nigerian passport does not fall into the wrong hands. Again, these conditions have always existed as requirement for the issuance of the Nigerian passport, so it's not new.
The Nigerian traveller
Today more than ever, the Nigerian traveller can approach any immigration officer at Heathrow Airport, John Kennedy Airport or any other international airport with confidence that no more will he be subjected to dehumanising and second-class treatment by other nationals. Holders of the e-passport are advised to handle it with care and not allow it to be exposed to heat or subject it to rough treatment that may damage the embedded chip in the passport. Nigerian travelling public whose machine-readable passport has not expired should not rush to replace it as it is still valid up to year 2010.
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Dear Sir Thank you for the information on this e-passport, i would love to apply for one due to last flood in Florida i lost my passport. And i would like to visit home soonest. How do i go through this and how much would it cost me. What do you need to process it Where do i go for the procession. Thanks yours Conudbia
how much does it cost to get nigerian international passport. here in nigeria..
Good day to whoom ever this falls on, I currently live in Cambodia without a passport, I lost it in an attack last weekend and have since been living here without a passot or any document that can protect me. I wish to know what could be done as to retrieving my passport back or could any legal document be issued to me for protection against the Government of Cambodia?
@klench4life. In case you still check back to read this message,I think the answer below may help you.When I lost my passport,I reported the case in the court inside the police headquarter in my state in Nigeria.I was asked to swear to affidavit in the presence of the judge (-to swear that what you say is true), then I was given a paper with details about how I lost it and the passport number,I paid a small fee. This was what I took to immigration office where I got a new passport. Though I don't know the situation in Cambodia in getting such document,but if you can successfully get it, then you can take it to the Nigerian Passport office nearest to you and they will give you a new passport.I will check this link again between 2weeks to 1month in case you have any question.Best of luck.
Dear Sir,
The link to apply for the e-passport cannot be accessed.Please assist me on how to access it to apply for my children.
Regards Godwin Ohare (from Warri) GSM 08037402647 / 08059335703