Mr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo who is the Minister of Interior has declared that the automation of passport applications is 99 percent done.
According to him, the new method of applying for a passport will go live next week.
This, according to the minister, would mean that applicants would only go to immigration passport offices for their biometrics and nothing more.
Tunji-Olo whi said: ‘We gave a date. We said December. That was what we said. I can tell you, we’re 99 per cent done. In fact, we’ve done the testing.’
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‘We should be going live next week or so. As I said, that would ensure that all Nigerians have to do at passport centres is just biometrics. Just take your fingerprint, that’s all.
‘Every other thing will be done in the comfort of your home, including uploading your passports. It would have come live about two weeks ago but I saw some errors when they came to do the presentation and I said no.’
Recall that Mr Tunji-Ojo had a few weeks ago revealed that 204,322 international passports are now ready for collection out of the backlog of over 300,000 he met on assumption of office.
Ojo made the disclosure during a press conference in Abuja on Wednesday, disclosing that only 99,901 had been collected out of the amount ready for collection.
He urged Nigerians to pick up their uncollected passports.
Tunji-Ojo also revealed that the ministry was working with the immigration service and their vendors to ensure that from next year, international passports are delivered directly to the preferred address of Nigerians.
Also, the Minister stated that reforms are underway to simplify the passport application process with the possibility of Nigerians being able to begin submitting online applications as early as December.