The National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) is pushing for the
use of the new national e-ID card as a valid travel document which will
serve as an alternative to the international passport for certain types
of travels. According to NIMC, the new national e-ID card issued to
Nigerians is a bona fide machine readable travel document (MRTD)
recognised by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO)
One of the 13 applets embedded in the JCOP chip on the card has
similar content usually found in Nigeria’s e-passport and it is known as
ICAO applet, so it could easily be used as a travel document subject to
approval of the international community, it noted.
Tunji
Durodola, head of card management services at NIMC, explained that the
back of the NIMC e-ID card contains three lines called machine readable
zone (MRZ) lines just like the passport and the same as other national
identity cards that have ICAO support. “Its development was as a result of NIMC’s conformance to the ICAO document 9303 parts 1 and 2,” he said.
Durodola
added that if adopted, it will make travelling easier, especially for
frequent travelers, who have to renew their passports and visas too
often. “It is a better way to document travel information, as the
loss of the identity card would not impair the information therein as it
would not be accessed by other people,” he said.
As Durodola
said, the ICAO applet is active at the time one picks up his e-ID card,
or the citizen may wish to activate it to make travelling easier for
him.
Rigorous testing by international testing agencies ensured
that the contents of the chip meet or exceed the standards set by the
internationally recognised body.
He said the first generation of
cards have the smartcard chip, but future generations will be
dual-interface (chip and contactless) for a truly robust solution.
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