This is cheering news for Nigerians abroad battling to renew or procure new travel documents.
The Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola Tuesday launched the Nigerian Temporary Passport (NTP) at NIS Headquarter in Abuja.
The Temporary Passport which replaces the herto Emergency Travel Certificate (ETC) is a new genre of Passport that will be issued at the Nigerian Embassies/High Commissions outside the country to Nigerians desirous of returning home but whose national passport is not available.
Aregbesola explained that the Temporary Passport is a travel document designed for a one-way travel to Nigeria only and that the new document replaces the hit ) which was issued to Nigerians in emergency situations for the purpose of returning home.
He also said the Temporary Passport is ICAO compliant and is valid for only 30 days before the date of travel and it is not in any way a replacement for the Nigerian Passport as it will only serve a temporary purpose in the case of loss or misplacement of the Nigerian Passport by a Nigerian abroad..
In his remark, the Comptroller General of Immigration Service, Muhammad Babandede, said that the replaced Emergency Travel Certificate was a huge security threat to Nigeria and the global community because it was an ordinary paper devoid of necessary security features of a travel document.
The Temporary Passport replacing it is a catalyst to Nigeria’s desire for effective identity management as it has a chip and surface personalization which is an enhancement of the current Electronic Passport Management System (EPMS)
