The Federal Authorities has revealed that the contactless passport renewal resolution, which went dwell in Canada on November 1, 2024, was developed by two Nigerian software program firms.
The disclosure was made by Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, the Minister of Interior, through the Politics As we speak programme on Channels Tv on Tuesday.
Tunji-Ojo defined that the Federal Authorities intentionally selected to belief indigenous know-how for the venture.
“The answer is totally indigenous. We didn’t go to search for overseas know-how. We acquired Nigerian know-how – the 2 firms/distributors that got here collectively to develop the answer are Nigerian software program firms,” he stated.
The minister expressed confidence within the resolution, citing his over twenty years of expertise as an IT cybersecurity knowledgeable and his intensive historical past as a venture supervisor on quite a few events.
He didn’t, nevertheless, point out the names of the businesses, and right now, they aren’t but publicly recognized.
The Inside Minister emphasised that the contactless passport renewal resolution is designed to alleviate the challenges confronted by Nigerians within the diaspora, corresponding to lengthy journey distances, lodging prices, and taking time without work work to resume passports.
He shared particular examples of Nigerians in Canada and London who needed to cancel lectures or miss work to finish their passport renewal course of.
Whereas acknowledging that the brand new resolution has encountered some preliminary hitches, Tunji-Ojo reassured Nigerians that these points could be addressed.
Tunji-Ojo additionally clarified that delays in passport issuance, corresponding to these reported by some Nigerians in Canada who skilled ready instances of as much as 42 days after utilizing the contactless passport renewal course of, aren’t linked to the system itself.
Moreover, a centralized personalization heart is being established in Abuja, outfitted with superior machines able to printing as much as 32,000 passports day by day, to enhance the effectivity of passport issuance.
The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) launched its phased contactless passport renewal system on November 1, 2024, beginning in Canada.
