By Lawani Mukairu
LAGOS—The National Identity Management Commission, NIMC, wants the use of the new National e-ID Card as a valid alternative travel document for certain types of travel since it is recognised by the International Civil Aviation Organisation, ICAO.

The new National eID Card issued to Nigerians on behalf of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is “a bonafide Machine Readable Travel Document, MRTD”, recognised by the International Civil Aviation Organisation, ICAO.

According to the Head, The Card Management Services at NIMC, Mr. Tunji Durodola, “One of the 13 applets imbedded 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.”

Durodola further 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.

According to him, “Its development was as a result of NIMC’s conformance to the ICAO Document 9303 parts 1 and 2. Rigorous testing by International testing agencies ensured that the contents of the chip meet or exceed the standards set by the internationally recognised body. The first generation of cards have the SmartCard chip, but future generations will be dual-interface (chip and contactless) for a truly robust solution.”

But for other countries to recognise the use of the National e-ID card for cross-border travel, its usage must be included in a bilateral agreement among countries that partner with Nigeria and this agreement must be recognised by the countries’ immigration and Border Control agencies, while such countries must have inspection devices that can read the cards, which most currently do.

“For this to work NIMC, The Federal Ministries of Aviation, Foreign Affairs and the Nigeria Immigration Service must have to sit down and agree on the process. Also, it is not certain if countries would be willing to work with Nigeria, which seems to be ahead of many other nations on the e-ID card programme. NIMC is confident that with time, the International Community will build confidence in the authenticity of The Card and the robust security features built into it.”

Durodola  added that Nigeria had to apply for an Object Identifier (OID), a pre-requisite for what is known as a Document Signer (DS), which in turn establishes the authenticity of the data contained on the chip as being authentic and not counterfeit.