The Federal Government has announced that all visa applications will transition to an online system by March 1 as part of efforts to improve national security, reduce corruption, and streamline the visa approval process.
This was disclosed by the Minister of Interior, Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, during a virtual session on ‘X Spaces’ hosted by influencer Dr. Segun Awosanya.
Tunji-Ojo said the creation of a centralised visa approval centre, which he described as a significant milestone in enhancing the country’s immigration system.
“The visa approval centre is also an achievement for this administration because we now have a centralised visa approval system,” the minister said.
“This will stem corruption, ensure national security, and merge the visa regime to ensure uniformity. Before March 1st, all visa application systems will be online to ensure proper vetting.”
The centralisation of visa approvals is part of a broader overhaul of Nigeria’s immigration and data management systems.
Tunji-Ojo revealed that the government has established a harmonised data centre at the Bola Ahmed Tinubu Technology Innovation Complex (BATTIC), located at the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) headquarters in Sauka, Abuja.
“We were able to build one of the biggest data centres in the history of Nigeria, which is the 8.3-petabyte centre,” he said. “Before then, we had an issue because we inherited a Nigeria Immigration Service that had no data centre. The data of Nigerians was being stored privately by various contractors, which was a gross contravention of the Data Protection Act.”
The minister explained that the state-of-the-art data centre, originally planned as a 1.4-petabyte facility was expanded to 8.3 petabytes, making it one of the largest in the world.
He said the infrastructure is important in safeguarding Nigeria’s security documents and ensuring compliance with due process, News About Nigeria reports.
“Nigeria cannot proliferate the issuance of its security documents because it is a gross violation of due process,” Tunji-Ojo said. “This lasting solution will ensure that the integrity of our immigration and visa processes is maintained.”
The transition to an online visa system is expected to simplify application procedures, enhance transparency, and ensure more effective monitoring.
