Eko Hot Blog reports that the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, has announced that the anticipated automation of the passport application process is set to commence within the next week.
Tunji-Ojo initially reassured Nigerians during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today on October 4, indicating that citizens would have access to the feature starting from December.
In a follow-up appearance on Tuesday’s edition of the programme, he stated that the technology was “99 per cent done”.
“In fact, we’ve done the testing and we should be going live in the next one week or thereabout. As I said, that will ensure that Nigerians, all they need to do in an immigration centre, a passport centre, is just biometrics, just to take your fingerprints, that’s all,” he said.
Asked about the feasibility of Nigerian nationals completing their applications from the convenience of their homes, Tunji-Ojo replied, “Of course!”
He said this would include uploading passport photos and supporting documents.
![](https://i0.wp.com/ekohotblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/images-2023-11-29T104908.729.jpeg?resize=739%2C415&ssl=1)
“We have gone beyond that. In fact, we’ve gone through it. We would have gone live about two weeks ago, but I saw some errors when they came to do a presentation, and I said, ‘You know this cannot be this,” he said.
“We’re talking about balancing national security as well as convenience. There must be a middle point. You cannot bring discomfort on the basis of enhancement of security. You must find a meeting point of both security and comfort.”
The minister reiterated his commitment, assuring that by February 2024, all Nigerian international airports would be equipped with e-gates.
“Once you’re Nigerian and you’re coming to Nigeria, you will have no business seeing an immigration officer, except if you’re a person of interest,” he said.
Click To Watch Our Video Of The Week
Discover more from EkoHotBlog
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Advertise or Publish a Story on EkoHot Blog:
Kindly contact us at [email protected]. Breaking stories should be sent to the above email and substantiated with pictorial evidence.
Citizen journalists will receive a token as data incentive.
Call or Whatsapp: 0803 561 7233, 0703 414 5611
![](https://i0.wp.com/www.ekohotblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/AdvertEKOHOT-1024x1024.jpeg?resize=1024%2C1024&ssl=1)