In a crucial development, the House of Representatives has issued a cautionary note to the Federal Government regarding the termination of a contract with Iris Smart Technologies Limited, a private firm responsible for producing electronic passport booklets. Lawmakers emphasized that prematurely ending the contract would result in an estimated cost of N22 billion for procuring equipment with the latest security features for the Nigerian e-passport.
The cautionary statement was made during the consideration and adoption of recommendations from the House Ad-Hoc Committee investigating the proposed domestication and processing of Nigerian international passports. The committee, chaired by Ibrahim Muhammad Hafiz from Kano, highlighted that the e-passport project is primarily technology-based and not solely a security printing task, unlike the Machine-Readable Passport era. The security printing aspect only constitutes 13% of the various components of an e-passport booklet.
The committee further clarified that domesticating the manufacturing of e-passport booklets does not eliminate the need for foreign exchange and the importation of components. It emphasized that an e-passport booklet is an active electronic device, unlike the old MRP, which is a printed booklet. The chip embedded in the e-passport enables secure access and communication with other devices and equipment within the e-passport network. This system prevents unauthorized infiltration or the use of non-prequalified third-party devices or booklets within the network.
The current management of the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) initiated the domestication process, which requires 90 to 180 days for full implementation, along with other passport-related processes to address the issue of scarcity. The panel recommended that the forex generated by Iris Technologies and the NIS through passport sales in foreign countries should be unlocked by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to resolve the booklet scarcity issue before the domestication process is completed.
The report highlighted the legal ramifications of unilaterally terminating the contract and advised the CBN and the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Plc to abide by this opinion in the best interest of the Federal Government. It emphasized that the ongoing domestication project, initiated by the NIS in collaboration with the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission, followed fair, transparent, and internationally recognized standards and should be allowed to conclude.
The report further emphasized the significant investment of over N22 billion in the secured e-passport network, including local and international systems and equipment. If a new booklet solution provider is appointed, this infrastructure would have to be discarded, resulting in lost investment and the need to purchase and implement a new network at a greater cost to the Federal Government.
In a separate development, the House urged the federal government to prioritize health as a business, similar to agriculture, and exhibit liberal political will towards health research institutes. This recommendation was made during the consideration and adoption of a report from the Ad-hoc Committee on COVID-19. The committee further suggested renaming it the Standing Committee on Epidemic and Pandemics and enhancing oversight of relevant MDAs. Other recommendations included prioritizing self-sufficiency in drugs, health commodities, and vaccine production, as well as establishing public health emergency operation centers at the federal and state levels, among other measures to enhance readiness for epidemics and pandemics.
These deliberations by the House of Representatives reflect their commitment to ensuring informed decisions and effective policies in the realms of passport production and public health emergency preparedness.