–Blank NEWS Online (NIGERIA) –From Mike SOGBOLO:

Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola has launched the Nigerian Temporary Passport (NTP).

The Temporary Passport was launched on Tuesday at NIS Headquarters in Abuja and it is to allow Nigerian in Diaspora without the Permanent Passport to travel into the country before the more permanent document could be issued.

A statement by the NIS Public Relations Officer, Sunday James said: “The Temporary Passport is a new genre of Passport that will be issued at the Nigerian Embassies/High Commissions outside the country to Nigerians desirous of returning home but whose national passport is not available.”

Aregbesola, at the launch, explained that the Temporary Passport is a travel document designed for a one-way travel to Nigeria only and 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.

The Minister said 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 Comptroller General of Immigration Service, Muhammad Babandede, on his part said 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.

He said 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).