By Chinedu Eze in Lagos and Michael Olugbode
The Minister of Interior, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola yesterday launched the Nigerian Temporary Passport (NTP) to cater for Nigerians who desire to return home but whose national passports are not available
This was disclosed in a statement signed by the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS)’s Public Relations Officer, Mr. Sunday James.
James explained that the temporary passport is a new genre of passport that would be issued at the Nigerian Embassies/High Commissions outside the country to Nigerian citizens who wished but do not have up to date national passports.
“The minister stated that the temporary passport is a travel document designed for a one-way travel to Nigeria only, adding that the new document replaces the hitherto Emergency Travel Certificate (ETC), which was issued to Nigerians in emergency situations for the purpose of returning home,” said the statement.
According to the statement, the minister also maintained that the Temporary Passport is International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO)-compliant and is valid for only 30 days before the date of travel.
He added that 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.
The Comptroller General, NIS, Muhammad Babandede stated 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.
Babandede added that the temporary passport used to replace 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).”
