Nigeria To Move Visa Applications Online By March 1 – Minister
The Federal Government has announced that all visa applications will be transitioned to an online platform before March 1. Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, the Minister of Interior, made this revelation during an interactive session on ‘X Spaces’ hosted by influencer Dr. Segun Awosanya on January 20.
Dr. Tunji-Ojo highlighted the government’s commitment to improving the visa approval process, emphasizing the creation of a centralized visa approval center designed to enhance national security, streamline operations, and combat corruption.
“We now have a centralized visa approval center,” the minister said. “This will help tackle corruption, ensure national security, and bring uniformity to the visa regime. By March 1, all visa applications will be processed online to facilitate thorough vetting.”
The minister also discussed the development of a new data center located at the Bola Ahmed Tinubu Technology Innovation Complex (BATTIC) at the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) headquarters in Sauka, Abuja. The center, which has a capacity of 8.3 petabytes, is one of the largest in Nigeria’s history.
“We inherited an NIS without a data center, and Nigerian data was stored by various contractors in private facilities, violating the Data Protection Act,” Tunji-Ojo stated. “Now, we’ve delivered one of the largest data centers in the world, ensuring compliance with data protection standards and proper management of security documents.”
The minister concluded by stressing the importance of aligning Nigeria’s security document issuance process with due process and data protection regulations.
