The Interior ministry to set up e-gates at the nation’s international airports in February next year to facilitate the rapid processing of Nigerians returning to the country.

With the e-gates Nigerian passengers will be able to scan their passports and do their biometrics and then exit to baggage clearance without any human interface.

Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, Minister of the Interior disclosed this in Abuja Thursday at a breakfast meeting on funding high impact social projects organized by BusinessDay.

According to the minister, Nigerians have a right to demand for and expect a high level of service delivered very.

“And in particular, no government official has the right to deny entry to a Nigerian returning home, the minister declared.

He also said his ministry will ensure that in relating with nationals of other country that the principle of reciprocity was maintained in the issuance of visas.

He said, “countries that treat our people decently should expect the same service for their own nations.”

Tunji-Ojo who has seen to the clearance of passport backlogs in Nigeria, said there was no reason why the backlog occurred in the first place and insisted that the Immigration department has orders to prevent any pile up in passport applications in the future.

He promised that Nigerians will soon be able to order their passports online and report at the passport office only for biometrics.

This he said will be followed by improvements that will see passports delivered to Nigerians in their homes or office in due course.

Read also: Foreign investment principles and immigration regulations in Nigeria

Another area receiving the minister’s attention is his push to ensure harmonization and integration of citizens identity records as is the case in most countries.

The identity of Nigerians seats with several agencies, a complex system that means duplication and waste in time and resources.

The banks hold BVN records, gsm firms also hold their own records while the NIMC is seeking to maintain its own version of the same records.

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