The FG has launched the e-Temporary Passport, a four-page travel document for a one-way return journey to Nigeria, usually in emergencies. It is to replace the Emergency Travel Certificate (ETC), for effective identity management.
The Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, has on behalf of the Federal Government, launched the Electronic Temporary Passport to cater for Nigerians desirous of returning home but whose national passport is not available.
Speaking at the event, the Minister stated that the passport will address the concerns of Nigerians abroad who have an urgent need to return home as well as those who are being returned home by their host countries but don’t have a valid passport.
He explained that the Temporary Passport was an electronic document with all the features of a regular passport, except that it is temporary and valid for one trip, and will be retrieved from the user at the entry point.
Aregbesola pointed out that 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.
“The Temporary Passport is ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organisation) compliant and is valid for only 30 days. It is a replacement for the hitherto Emergency Travel Certificate (ETC) which was issued to Nigerians in emergency situations where their passports were not available and had the need to travel to Nigeria.
“This new document is not a replacement for the Nigerian Passport; it will only serve a temporary purpose in the case of loss or misplacement of the Nigerian Passport by a Nigerian abroad.
“In the light of the present security challenges faced by the country, the Temporary Passport will no doubt help to checkmate the excess of criminal elements that takes advantage of the ETC to infiltrate the country,” he said.
The minister further assured Nigerians having difficulties with obtaining the Nigerian passport that the challenge would soon end.
In his own remarks, the Controller General of NIS, Muhammad Babandede, noted that the introduction of the document is another way of engaging with the Diaspora population with a view to addressing their emergency travel needs stressing that the document can be issued to applicants irrespective of age.
He revealed 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 the necessary security features of a travel document.
Babandede added that 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).
