By Emma Ovuakporie

ABUJA—The Immigration department will by 31 December 2010 phase out the old international passport as e-passports replace the old green Nigerian passport.

The organisation has gone a step further by creating e-gates at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Ikeja and Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja solely for Nigerians with the new e-passports.

The Minister of Interior, Dr Shettima Mustafa made this disclosure at a ministerial press briefing yesterday in Abuja.

According to Dr Mustafa, 36 states of the federation are now e-passport compliant and some missions abroad can now issue Nigerians the new e-passports.

He said this is just a tip of the iceberg of what the departments under his ministry had achieved barely six months that he assumed office “as ours is a service delivery ministry. You don’t necessarily see what we are doing,  but we are working for 24 hours daily as the just concluded Under 17 World Cup that was a success story shows.”