Nigerians applying for traveling passports will have to obtain identification number from the National Identification Management Commission, NIMC, in order to be eligible for issuance, says Comptroller-General of Nigeria Immigration Service, NIS, Mohammed Babandede.
Babandede said from 1st January 2018, applicants will not be issued with the Nigerian passport without the identification number.
Government also said that anybody that intends to apply for the renewal of his or her passport or wants a fresh passport but is residing outside the country will first have identification number from NIMC or will be denied issuance or renewal of the passport.
He explained that the reason behind the new policy was for ease of business in the country.
“The bulk lies on all our table. It is the harmonization of data and requires all of us to act but the biggest problem we are facing is that everybody is deploying his own technology.
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