In line with the growing awareness for the National Identity Number (NIN), driven by the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), from January next year, applicants without NIN will not access international passport (IPP).
The announcement was renewed during a recent interactive session with select ICT editors in Lagos by the Director General of NIMC, Engineer Aliyu Aziz.
Business Hilights recalls that the Comptroller General of Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Mohammed Babadede, also dropped the hint after a meeting of the National Identity Management Harmonization Committee (NIMHC) in Abuja earlier this week.
Important to remember is that the Federal Government had 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 NIMC.
The latest meeting of the NIMHC, our Correspondent gathered, was part of renewed efforts to actualise the harmonisation process.
Babadede noted further that “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.”
NIS boss also revealed that “resident foreigners are not exempted, as they will also require the identification when renewing their residence permits”.
“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.
NIMC boss who had called for more media attention to the ongoing registration during the media parley, noted that centers for free registration are scattered across the nation.
He made it clear that no payment of any sort is required during registration and after collecting your NIN slip.
