The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, has said that the federal government will launch the recently introduced contactless renewal of international passports in four states of the federation in January next year.
Tunji-Ojo disclosed this while featuring on an Arise TV program on Wednesday, indicating that the Ministry could not meet its earlier plan to launch the system in Nigeria this December.
According to him, the states where the experimental phase of the project would be launched include Lagos, Abuja, Rivers, and Kano.
In addition, he said the service would be rolled out internationally for Nigerians in the U.S., UK, Italy, and France in the same month, having successfully launched in Canada.
Why phased rollout?
Explaining why the government is adopting a phased rollout to test the solution and ensure it becomes perfect before being opened to everybody.
“I come from a tech management consulting background and 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 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.
Technical hitches
The Minister admitted that the system experienced technical hitches at the beginning in Canada.
- He, however, noted that the hitches have been fixed through patching and continuous corrections on the system.
- He added that once the system is perfect, it would become “a legacy for this particular administration and something Nigerians can be proud of forever.”
“This is why we have adopted a cautious approach towards the project or else people will jump on it and at the end of the day, the frustration can even lead to the failure of the process,” he added.
What you should know
The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) announced the contactless renewal system in October this year with plans to first roll it out on November 1 in Canada and Nigeria this December.
- However, while it was successfully rolled out in Canada, many Nigerians are still waiting to use it in Nigeria and other parts of the world.
- Although the NIS mobile app is already on the Google Play Store, many who downloaded it in Nigeria have not been able to complete their registration, apparently because it has not been enabled for those living in the country.
- The initiative, designed to simplify and modernize the passport renewal process, allows Nigerians to apply for passport renewals online, reducing the need for in-person visits to NIS offices.
According to the NIS, with this contactless system, individuals would be able to apply to renew their international passports from the comfort of their homes without having to visit any NIS office.