Minister of Interior Tunji-Ojo appeared on The Morning Show, an Arise Television program, to discuss the upcoming experimental phase of a passport project, set to launch in Lagos, Abuja, Rivers, and Kano states.
He explained that the service would initially roll out internationally to Nigerians in the United States, United Kingdom, Italy, and France following a successful launch in Canada.
Tunji-Ojo emphasized the importance of a phased rollout to ensure the system’s reliability before expanding its access. “I come from a tech management consulting background and in my experience, you don’t launch a project of that magnitude all over at the same time,” he said.
“There will be what we call the system shock. And once there’s a system shock, it erodes the benefit that you aim to derive.”
The minister noted that starting in Canada allowed the government to refine the system before opening it up globally. “So, we decided that before we open it up to the entire world, let’s start with Canada. And as I speak to you, we’re already producing passports based on the contactless system in Canada.”
By January, the system will be introduced in the UK, United States, Italy, and France, alongside Nigerian cities.
Although there were initial technical challenges in Canada, Tunji-Ojo assured that the issues were addressed through “patching” and continuous corrections.
He emphasized that once the system is perfected, it would become a lasting legacy for the administration, something Nigerians could be proud of. “This is why we have adopted a cautious approach towards the project or else people will jump on it and at the end of the day, the frustration can even lead to the failure of the process,” he concluded.
