President Buhari has given the Nigerian Security Printing
& Minting Company (NSPMC), the sole authority to produce the Nigerian
E-passports and related documentation, as announced in a statement by his
Special Adviser, Femi Adesina.
With the sole authority given to The Mint which was
established in 1963 with the objective of producing the nation’s currency notes
and coins for the Central Bank of Nigeria as well as security documents for
Ministries, Departments and Agencies of government, banks and other blue-chip
companies, all existing memoranda of understanding and contracts on printing by
other institutions/ companies will not be renewed.
The statement reads;
PRESIDENT BUHARI VESTS PRINTING AND MINTING PLC WITH SOLE
AUTHORITY TO PRINT E-PASSPORTS
President Muhammadu Buhari has directed that the production
and personalization of all Nigerian E-passports and related documentation shall
be the sole responsibility of the Nigerian Security Printing & Minting
Company (NSPMC).
Popularly known as The Mint, the company was established in
1963 with the objective of producing the nation’s currency notes and coins for
the Central Bank of Nigeria as well as security documents for Ministries,
Departments and Agencies of government, banks and other blue chip companies.
With the new directive from the President, all existing
memoranda of understanding and contracts on printing by other institutions/
companies will not be renewed.
The Mint is the largest banknote and security documents
specialist printing company in West Africa. However, its performance was
rapidly dwindling in terms of both currency production and security documents
prior to 2014.
Under the chairmanship of the Central Bank Governor, Mr
Godwin Emefiele, new targets were set, and Managing Director/Chief Executive
Officer of The Mint, Mr Abbas Umar Masanawa recounts some of the achievements
to include: zero importation of currency from 2014 to date, with attendant
benefits of conservation of foreign reserve, revenue and employment generation,
as well as safeguarding the nation’s sovereignty.
Mr Masanawa counts the blessings further: “The Mint has
returned to profitability. From a moribund organization with heavy losses, the
company grew from a loss position of N14. 6 million in 2014 to a profit of N14.
3 billion in 2018. Turnover also grew from N17.8 billion in 2014 to N61. 4
billion in 2018.
“Other achievements include enhanced production capacity,
revenue diversification, reduced cost of production, institutionalization of
corporate governance, improved staff welfare and industrial harmony, among
others.”
The Managing Direction pledged that The Mint would justify
the renewed confidence reposed in it by the President, “as we are moving to the
Next Level, and poised to boost national security and integrity, we will
conserve scarce foreign exchange, improve revenue generation, create job
opportunities, and boost acquisition/transfer of technology.”
Femi Adesina
Special Adviser to the President
(Media and Publicity)
