By Ikugbadi Oluwasegun
The Federal Government is implementing a new consular biometric data verification policy, As part of effort to curb identity fraud, data breaches, and deter security risks globally.
Yusuf Tuggar, Minister of Foreign Affairs who disclosed this, says through a verified platform with inter-agency support, the Ministry has officially approved “ASFAAR.ng”, a digital platform for verification of Nigerian travellers.
Yusuf Tuggar was presented with an overview of the system’s features, including real-time data processing for destinations such as the Gulf and Arab countries, a key destination for Nigerian travellers and businesses.
The Minister highlighted the mutual benefits of the framework, reinforcing Visa integrity trust, and Compliance. However, it remains optional for individual countries to key into the initiative.
While implementation is in process, Lebanon’s Ambassador suggests a bilateral agreement to further ease consular services and processes with partner countries to enhance travel security.
It was however stated that the policy is not meant to replace consular services but enhance them.
