Soon, no Nigerian returning into the country, except persons of interest, will spend more than 30 seconds at the airport, because the process would be fully automated, Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, assured on Monday.
The Minister at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA) Abuja, to inspect the E-gate project, said the scanners being installed at the international airports across the country would not only eradicate human contacts, but would end the incessant delays hitherto endured by travellers at the airports.
The project being carried out by the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), one of the agencies under the ministry, which would cover all international airports across the country is supposed to be a cure to end the unnecessary delay of passengers due to manual scanning used by immigration officers.
He said: “So, I came to inspect the e-gate project that is ongoing and I am happy with the progress of work being done so far; eight e-gates are to be installed at the Abuja airport. But I told them that eight will not be acceptable by me; and that they have to increase it by two to make it 10.
“So far, they have succeeded in installing some and from the assurances given by the contactor, the remaining ones will be delivered before the end of the month, to make it 10 in all. You know the more the e-gate, then the easier it will be for passengers to be cleared and looking at the one that had been tested; I learnt that it is about 30 seconds to clear an individual.
“This I believe is a record time anywhere in the world; and having looked at the solutions and the hard ware, is unarguably one of the best. With what he saw on ground, I have no doubt that when completed Nigerians would no longer be at the mercy of NIS officers, or anybody when they arrive Nigeria.
“This is a fact; because as you can see, it is a matter of putting your passport and it scans it, opens the gate, read your facials, your bio-metrics, it will capture you; and then you leave. You do not need to have an encounter with any Immigration officer.
“But again, unless you a person of interest, I must always put that because this whole purpose is not just for you to be able to pass at record time. No, is not just for that is to also secure the country by so doing.’’
Explaining that for the country to also add another layer to its national security architecture, it should be able to have about two or three licence verifications, he said the facility would enable the appropriate authority to easily flag anybody or a passenger who happened to be a person of interest or on the watch list.
“By the time the project comes to fruition, it will be a new story and will be another milestone in the annals of the country and NIS. The project is not just in Abuja; we are looking at delivering about 16 in Lagos, 8 in the D-WING and 8 in the E-WING. As well as one in the private wing in Lagos to make it 17 in total; about five in kano, four in Enugu and four in Port Harcourt. What I believe is that people must not come through Abuja for them to enjoy the services,” he said.
The minister inspected another ongoing project– Advanced Passengers Information System (APIS), a device which enables NIS officials to access passenger’s bio-data at least two hours before entering into the country, from the NIS headquarters.
Expressing delight with the level of work done so far, which had reached more 70 per cent readiness, he particularly enthused at the assurance he got from the contractors about the early completion of the project, adding the implication was that the NIS would end up as a major contribution to Nigerian border security in real terms.
His words: “My Joy is that the contractor has given me his words that in the next three weeks, it will be 100 per cent ready. So, it means that the E-NIS project, the border control management which is the automation of border control system is on course and Nigerians are about to have new experience.
“And above all, NIS is ready to contribute its quota to the national security architecture as I always say NIS is an integral part of national security. And as a security organisation, the efficiency of the service goes a long way to determine how secured the country will be; that is why it has decided to adopt technology and automated its operations.”