The Nigeria Immigration Service says from January 1, 2018, anybody without the National Identification Number, issued by the National Identity Management Commission, will not be able to procure Nigerian passport. It added that the condition applied to both first-time applicants and those renewing their expired document. The Comptroller-General of the NIS, Mr. Mohammed Babandede, disclosed this to State House correspondents after a meeting of database harmonisation committee at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Tuesday.
Babandede said the decision was taken as part of the Federal Government’s efforts to ease the process of doing business in the country. He said thenceforth, there would be no need for individuals to have their biometrics captured by the NIS and NIMC separately. He said, “The biggest problem we are facing is that everybody is deploying his own technology; but harmonisation of data will solve that. We have agreed that from January 1, 2018, anybody who is going to apply for the Nigerian passport, whether renewal or fresh application, must first have a National Identity Number.
“Why we are doing this is that we want to ease process of doing business in Nigeria. There is no need for you to go and have your biometrics captured by the NIMC and then you come and capture again with the Nigeria Immigration Service.
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