From January
next year, Nigerians without the National Identity Number (NIN) are to be
denied international passport (IPP).The Comptroller General of Nigeria
Immigration Service (NIS), Mohammed Babadede, dropped the hint yesterday after
a meeting of the National Identity Management Harmonization Committee in Abuja.
Specifically,
the Federal Government, in 2014, ordered all ministries, departments and
agencies (MDAs) and security organisations involved in biometric data capture,
to complete their registration and handover to the National Identity Management
Commission (NIMC).
Yesterday’s
meeting was part of efforts to actualise the harmonisation
process.Consequently, Babadede explained that every citizen, seeking the
document, must possess the identification number as a pre-condition
His words:
“We have agreed that from January 1, 2018, anybody who is going to apply for
the Nigerian passport, whether renewal or fresh, must first have a national
identity number. We are doing this to ease business for Nigerians.
“There is no
need for you to go and have your biometric captured by NIMC and then you come
and capture again with the Nigeria Immigration. Once you give us your NIN
number, we will collect the biometric from the NIMC and produce your passport.
That is the intention in all other agencies.”
According to
him, resident foreigners are not exempted, as they will also require the
identification when renewing their residence permits.He continued: “I have also
given a directive that any foreigner resident in Nigeria will not get his/her
permit renewed until he has an NIN. To achieve this, NIMC NIN and passport numbers
will be harmonised and we are committed to allowing NIMC in Immigration. All of
its staff can work in our passport offices.”
Guardian*
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