On January 15, 2019, the Nigerian federal government introduced a new international electronic passport at the State House, Abuja.
The passport was presented to President Muhammadu Buhari, the first family and the vice president, Yemi Osinbajo, by Mohammad Babandede, the Comptroller General of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) during the unveiling ceremony.
Here is everything you need to know about the new passport:
First announced in 2018
The Comptroller-General disclosed plans to issue this new passport in 2018.
Mr Babandede shared the good news while visiting Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State in Ibadan.
“We thank President Muhammadu Buhari for approving the new passport with 10 years validity. We have also repositioned and improved on our services as directed by the president,” he said.
Valid for 10 years
Unlike the older ones, which lasted for only five years, this one will be valid for 10 years.
Enhanced security
Speaking with Channels Television, the Comptroller said, “10 years after the enrollment of the e-passport system, we need to improve the security features.
“You can’t keep documents for 10 years without seeing decreased values in them, so we are improving the security features which would raise the standards of the passports,” he added.
Weather friendly
The NIS has said that this new passport is “weather friendly” as it has polycarbonate technology that leaves no room for damage.
Does not replace the old passport
This is according to a statement by the service spokesman, Sunday James, who said the new and the old passports will work simultaneously.
Price
The new passport, which contains 64 pages, costs N70,000. There are cheaper options but these will not be valid for 10 years.
The new standard passport, with 32 pages and a five-year validity period, costs N25,000 while the 64-booklet passport will cost N35,000. The latter will also last for only five years.
This new passport will be available to the public from February 2019.
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