Interior minister introduces reforms to reduce bottlenecks in passport renewal

Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo has assured Nigerians especially women that the new passport reforms being put in place would ensure contactless biometrics enrolment in order to allow Nigerians do their enrolments from their comfort zones.

Dr Tunji-Ojo who frowned at the many hurdles Nigerians especially married women, are made to go through regarding change of passport data said it is a “stupid practice” to subject married women to the harshness of travelling to the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) headquarters in Abuja just to effect a data change.

“There is one stupid thing I have seen and it is that a woman gets married, changes her name and then she has to come to Abuja all the way from say Kaura Namoda or Enugu just to come and effect a change of name in her passport. It is absurd.

“I can’t just figure it that you want to change just your name and you have to be in Abuja. I have asked the immigration people, is it that immigration people in Abuja have more than one head than those in the states?” he queried.

According to the Minister, as from March, the new passport reforms being put in place would ensure contactless biometrics enrolment in order to allow Nigerians do their enrolments from their comfort zones.

“With the new reforms, you don’t need to travel to abuja to change your data. Everything will be online.

“From March, once you have ever enrolled for passport and you are coming to renew, please don’t come to my office, stay in your house and do it. We have contactless biometrics and this can be done in five minutes. We don’t need to keep taking your biometrics every five years. Who does that in the world?” He said.

The minister said the issue of passport issue remains the least of his worries, as he wants more secure borders for the country.