TheCable

Muhammad Babandede, the comptroller general (CG) of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), says the enhanced e-passport is acceptable and valid for entering all countries.

Babandede made this known in a statement released by Sunday James, NIS’ public relations officer, in Abuja on Thursday.

The CG’s reassurance is coming against the backdrop of the recent problem on the e-Passport with the authority of the United Arab Emirate(UAE).

“The recent problem on the e-Passport with the authority of the United Arab Emirate(UAE) has been resolved,” he said.

“I will like to seize this opportunity to thank both the Ambassadors of UAE and Nigeria for resolving the issue.

“In view of the above, Nigerians are encouraged to get their national identity number (NIN) and ensure that the information tallies with the one on their Passports.

“The uniformity of the NIN information and that of the 10-year validity Passport is to ensure one identity which is a major feature of the new enhanced e-Passport.”

According to the immigration CG, the new passport is available in the service headquarters, Abuja and Ikoyi, pending the roll-out in other centres.

“It is worthy to note that the issuance of the former and the new enhanced e-Passports will run concurrently,” he said.

NAN reports that the new passport incorporates details of enrollees as captured by the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC).

The new e-passport was launched by President Muhammadu Buhari on January 16.

The cost of the 32-page five-year standard passport stands at N25,000, while the 64-page five-year standard passport costs N35,000.

The 64-page 10-year standard passport costs N70,000.