Nigeria launches Temporary Passport

The Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) has launched the Nigerian Temporary Passport (NTP) to replace the Emergency Travel Certificate (ETC) which had been issued to Nigerians to return to the country in emergency situations.
The launch of the NTP, by the Minister of Internal Affairs, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola took place at the NIS Headquarters, Tuesday, March 9, 2021.
According to a statement by DCI Sunday James, Service Public Relations Officer on behalf of the Comptroller General of Immigration, the NTP, “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.”
The statement quoted the Minister as explaining that the NTP is a travel document designed for a one-way travel to Nigeria only.” He said that the document is “ICAO compliant and is valid for only 30 days before the 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.”
Comptroller General of Immigration Service, Muhammad Babandede, the statement said further, pointed out that the replaced ETC was a major 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, however, that the NTP replacing the ETC “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).