By BASHIR ADEFAKA
To henceforth get a new or renewed Nigerian Passport issued to applicant by the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS), new conditions have been set.
The conditions include the provision of a citizenship certificate, date of birth certificate and the National Identification Number (NIN).
Giving force to this development in a statement issued in Abuja, on Wednesday, the country’s Minister of the Interior, Mr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, explained the newly introduced conditions.
He said they were now the prerequisites for obtaining or renewing Nigerian passports in effort of government to curb the acquisition of Nigerian passports by non-citizens.
In the statement, the minister added that the conditions had become critical in verifying applicants’ true citizenship and is working effectively, with only four percent hiccups, contrary to reports of hitches.
The minister acknowledged challenges faced by new passport applicants and assured of an enhanced process in the coming weeks.
Tunji-Ojo explained that while working towards contactless biometrics in passport renewal, the increase in cost of the five year passport to #35,000 was agreed to, taking a cue from the cost of the 10-year passport which has been #70,000 all along.
