TheCable

The federal government has commenced issuance of e-passport at the FESTAC town passport office in Lagos.

Muhammed Babandede, the comptroller general of the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS), announced this on Monday at a ceremony to approve processing of enhanced electronic passport for applicants.

Before now, the e-passports were issued at Alausa, Ikoyi, Port Harcourt, Abuja and Kano passport offices.

The e-passport, which was launched by President Muhammadu Buhari on January 16, is valid for all countries.

Represented by Doris Braimah, the assistant comptroller general, Zone A, Babandede explained that the new enhanced e-passport has 26 additional security features compared to the one being phased out.

He added that the e-passport is also water-resistant due to its hydrocarbon design.

The NIS boss said the new electronic passport meets the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) standards.

He said the approval of the FESTAC passport office is as a result of the strategic location of Lagos which is unique for its three border points of land, sea and air.

The electronic passport is available in three categories of 32-page valid for five years; 64-page with five years validity, both of which are available for adults and minors; and a 64-page version with 10 years’ validity for adults.

The 32-paged five-year standard passport costs N25,000, while the 64-paged five-year standard passport costs N35,000.

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

Babandede said the requirements for the new passport remains the same as the old one, adding that a national identification number (NIN) is required and mandatory for its issuance.