Immigration Moves To Implement ‘no National ID, No International Passport’ Policy

The Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) has announced that international
passport will no longer be issued to those who do not have national
identity card number.
The NIS comptroller general, Mohammed Babandede, disclosed this on
Tuesday at the opening ceremony of the 4th annual meeting of the
ID4Africa movement hosted by the National Identity Management
Commission (NIMC).
According to Babandede, the development was part of the efforts to
streamline the databases of all government institutions and agencies.
He said the streamlining was crucial and not just for security reasons,
but also to aid economic and social planning.
He said, “Based on the president’s directive, we have committed to
linking up with the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) to
ensure that henceforth, when filling your passport details, you must
produce your NIN number.
“We have also provided office space for NIMC in all our establishments
nationwide. We are glad to also invite NIMC to all our foreign missions.”
According to him, through constant reforms, the immigration service
has eliminated the era of multiple passport owners in the country.”
“In the past, when you buy food in restaurants abroad you will lose your
passport and get another one. But today we have a single database; we
are in 87 locations, including our 37 foreign missions,” he said.