The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, announced that the federal government will launch the recently introduced contactless renewal of international passports in four states in January next year. Speaking on an Arise TV program, Tunji-Ojo explained that the Ministry could not meet its initial plan to launch the system in Nigeria this December.
The states selected for the experimental phase include Lagos, Abuja, Rivers, and Kano. Additionally, the service will be rolled out internationally for Nigerians in the U.S., UK, Italy, and France in the same month, following a successful launch in Canada.
Tunji-Ojo emphasized the importance of a phased rollout to test and perfect the solution before a full-scale launch. “In my experience, you don’t launch a project of that magnitude all over at the same time. There will be what we call the system shock, and once there’s a system shock, it erodes the benefit that you aim to derive. So, we decided that before we open it up to the entire world, let’s start with Canada. And as I speak to you, we’re already producing passports based on the contactless system in Canada. By January, we’re taking it to four countries, which include the UK, United States, Italy, and France. And of course, in Nigeria, we’re opening it up in Lagos, Abuja, Rivers, and Kano,” the Minister explained.
The Minister acknowledged initial technical hitches in Canada but noted that these issues have been resolved through continuous system improvements. He added that once perfected, the system would become “a legacy for this particular administration and something Nigerians can be proud of forever.”
The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) announced the contactless renewal system in October, with plans to roll it out in Canada on November 1 and in Nigeria this December. While the system has been successfully implemented in Canada, many Nigerians are still awaiting its availability in Nigeria and other parts of the world. The NIS mobile app, already available on the Google Play Store, has not yet been enabled for users in Nigeria.
This initiative aims to simplify and modernize the passport renewal process, allowing Nigerians to apply for renewals online and reducing the need for in-person visits to NIS offices. With the contactless system, individuals can renew their international passports from the comfort of their homes without visiting any NIS office.
