We would soon begin production of e-passports in Nigeria - FG
- The Ministry of Interior is working towards ensuring total production of international passports within the country
- According to the minister of interior, the move for the production of the e-passport in the country is an off-shoot of the ministry's policies on public, private partnership
- However, Nigerians have been warned against going to passport offices to pay for their international passports
- All payments for passport processing are to be done online and through designated banks
The federal government has assured that it would soon begin the total production of e-passports in Nigeria.
The minister of interior, Abdulrahman Dambazzau, said the ministry is working to towards domestication of e-passport production within the country.
Speaking at a ministerial press briefing by the ministry on Thursday, January 17, Dambazzau said the move to domesticated the production of these passport is to ensure that every material need for the passports are produced in Nigeria and this contributed to the generation of revenue within the country.
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At the briefing themed "The Journey so Far", the minister said, the domestication of the production of the e-passport is an off-shoot of the ministry's policies on public, private partnership and the promotion of the ease of doing business in Nigeria.
According to Dambazzau, the ministry through its department of finance and accounts generated a total revenue of N35.7 billion since the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration came into power in 2015.
He added said that the ministry generated N13.3 billion and N13.1 billion in 2016 and 2017 through passport issuance.
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Also speaking, the comptroller general of Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Muhammadu Babandede, warned Nigerians against going to passport offices to pay their international passports.
Babandede said: "Don't go to passport offices to pay money for your passports, go online and pay online before going to the offices and it will be treated."
Also addressing controversies trialing the prices for the passports he said: "The prices for each catergory of passport is also online. For the 32-page passport for five years, it is N25,000 and $130 outside the country; the 664-pages for five years is N35,000 and $150 outside Nigeria while the 64-pages for 10 years is N70,000 and $230 outside the country."
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Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that the NIS had banned cash payments for passport processing as part of efforts to eliminate corruption at all passport offices nationwide.
The NIS spokesperson, Sunday James, in an interview on Monday August 28, said the CG had directed that henceforth all payments for passport processing must be done online and through designated banks.
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Source: Legit.ng
