Nigeria will soon begin local production of e-passports to conserve foreign exchange.

According to Minister of Interior, Lieutenant-General Abdulrahman Dambazau, producing the passport in the country will also help in job creation and build Nigeria’s capacity in passport production.

Dambazau, says currently, passports are being produced outside the country; not too long, we will start the production of passports which is under the Private-Public Partnership, PPP, saying within the period under review, the ministry was able to review agreement under PPP, to ensure that the quality of services are improved and the government’s share of revenue is increased.”

He said part of the roles the ministry played was ensuring the issuance of Visa-on-Arrival at various international airports which was done to attract and ease movement of genuine investors.

The minister said through the Nigeria Immigration Service, the ministry launched the Harmonised Arrival/Departure Cards which ended the era where international travelers were required to fill multiple cards issued by various agencies at the ports.

“The introduction of the cards has created a platform for enhancing the ease of doing business in Nigeria as specific migration entry and departure encumbrances, as well as cumbersome clearing processes, have been reduced.”

Dambazau who said this at an event to mark his three years in office, said the ministry had stepped up enforcement of rules to sanitise prisons operations following incessant jailbreaks being recorded in some prisons across the country.

He said the ministry had also strengthened the capacity of armed squad in the prisons, and was making use of e-Prisons Surveillance to reduce jailbreaks.

On Administration of the Criminal Justice System, he said that the ministry was working toward reducing congestion in prisons across the country.

According to him, this is part of efforts to implement the criminal justice system in Nigeria.

‘’ The Ministry’s relationship with the Ministry of Justice is being strengthened as the administration of criminal justice system rests on the tripod of Judiciary, Police and Prisons,’’ he said.

Dambazau said the ministry had developed the concept for the establishment of an institute of domestic security to enhance capacity of officers of the ministry and its agencies in handling conflicts and crises.

He said the ministry had finalised work on the draft National Policy on Public Safety and Security, with inputs from stakeholders, adding that it awaiting approval by Federal Executive Council (FEC).

Dambazau said the ministry had also boosted the capacity of the Nigerian Police Force, Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Federal Fire Service and the Nigeria Immigration Service for high performance.

‘’For instance, we have established a national criminal records registry,’’ he stated.