Minister Tunji-Ojo Announces Exact Date Home Delivery of Passports Will Start in Nigeria

• The federal government has announced that beginning in June, Nigerians will start receiving their passports at home
• Minister Tunji-Ojo disclosed that the delivery service will commence in Lagos, Port Harcourt, Kano, and Abuja
• He added that the commencement of the service was delayed by the need to establish a data centre first

Legit.ng journalist Victor Enengedi has over a decade's experience covering Energy, MSMEs, Technology and the stock market.

Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, the interior minister, announced that the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) will begin offering home delivery of passports starting in June.

This announcement was made during his visit to inspect the electronic gates at the new terminal of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja.

Home delivery to start in major cities

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Tunji-Ojo mentioned that the home delivery service will initially be limited to avoid straining the system.

The service will be available in four major cities: Lagos, Port Harcourt, Kano, and Abuja.

The minister had earlier hinted that Nigerians living abroad can apply for their passports from the comfort of their homes or offices.

For Nigerians residing abroad, the service will be piloted in the United States and the United Kingdom to test its effectiveness before a wider implementation.

It would be recalled that the FG had introduced a new passport template as a strategic measure to prevent the fraudulent acquisition or forging of documents by non-citizens.

FG to unveil new data centre

According to TheCable, Tunji-Ojo pointed out that the absence of a dedicated data centre had previously hindered the launch of the home delivery system.

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He explained that the NIS had been dependent on a private company's data centre, which was not a viable long-term solution.

He said:

“We were leveraging on a private company data centre and we appreciate them for that assistance. We think that it is better to create a permanent solution to problems rather than quick fixes.”

The minister stressed the necessity of establishing a solid infrastructure to uphold data integrity and safeguard national security.

He reassured the public that the newly built data centre and the passport delivery service are now functional.

Nigerian passport moves up three places

In related news, Legit.ng reported that Nigeria's passport has risen three places to rank 100th out of 116 countries, according to the latest 2022 Henley Passport Index.

Despite this improvement, it remains one of the least powerful passports in Africa.

The index, released by Henley & Partners, a London-based global citizenship and residence advisory firm, ranks 199 passports based on the number of destinations accessible without a prior visa.

Source: Legit.ng