Biometric card to replace ECOWAS travel certificate

The Federal Government said new Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) single biometric identity card would replace ECOWAS Travel Certificate to guarantee free movement of people and goods in West Africa.

Announcing this in Abuja, Minister of Interior, Abdulrahman Dambazau, said the card contains such features as the finger-prints, dates of birth and other security information that could be instantly verified at security check points.

He spoke during the signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Federal Government’s Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) and Euphoria Press on Public Private Partnership for the Implementation of the ECOWAS Biometric Identity Card.

He said: “The new biometric identity card will be printed by Euphoria Press and issued by through the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS). Thirteen million ECOWAS biometric cards would be printed and financed by Euphoria Press.”

Director General of ICRC, Chidi Izuwah, said Nigerian government stands to benefit a lot from the PPP arrangement, because it is not required to make financial commitment, but to serve as a regulator of the process.

“The ICRC takes custody of the contract, once it is signed, while Euphoria Press would provide the financial backing and the Ministry of Interior would supervise it,” he explained.