By Emmanuel Nduka
Nigerians will now enjoy smoother and more secure global travels, as the Nigerian passport has been integrated into the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Public Key Directory (PKD) and Public Key Infrastructure (PKI).
This was announced by the country’s Ministry of Interior on it’s official X handle on Tuesday.
“The ICAO PKD and PKI systems ensure that the data embedded in electronic passports, such as biometric information, can be verified against trusted sources.
“This means that Nigerian passports can now be authenticated more efficiently at international borders, reducing delays and enhancing security,” the ministry wrote.
Heritage Times HT reports that with this passport, Nigerians will become global citizen, with possible visa-free access to over 149 countries, opening up a world of opportunities.
It implies that Immigration officers around the globe will begin to respect the Nigerian passport once more.
Heritage Times HT had reported that within his first year in office, Nigeria’s Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo exhibited exceptional efficiency by swiftly resolving a backlog of 204,000 passport applications within a mere two weeks at the Nigerian Immigration Service.
Under his leadership, new passport applications no longer takes more than six weeks to be processed, while passport renewals takes three weeks to be processed.
