In a major step toward strengthening border security and modernising travel protocols, the Federal Government has announced the introduction of automated landing and exit cards as part of its wider e-Visa solution. The new system, set to take effect on May 1, 2025, aims to eliminate travel bottlenecks while enhancing national security.

The initiative was unveiled during a joint press briefing held in Abuja on Wednesday by the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo and the Minister of Interior, Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo.

The ministers emphasised that the project is a collaborative effort involving key agencies, including the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), and the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), all of which will play a critical role in the rollout of the e-Visa and the new digital travel documentation.

“What we are doing here today is a further testament to the determination of this government to foster cooperation between key ministries that have mandates that overlap,” Keyamo stated. “Today is another example of that kind of cooperation and collaboration, and this has to do with the introduction of the e-Visa.”

Speaking on the importance of the new initiative, Minister Tunji-Ojo highlighted its significance to Nigeria’s security framework.

“This initiative has a very serious effect on our national security architecture. Prior to now, we have always had the exit and landing card in a manual way — travellers had to fill a paper form. But now the narrative has changed with the introduction of the e-Visa and automated exit and entry cards,” he said.

He explained that the process will now be completed digitally before boarding, with travellers required to fill out the landing and exit cards online and present them to airlines before being allowed to board.

“Nigeria is a country of 230 million brilliant people and we have to lead in terms of technology. In view of that, we are automating the visa process. The responsibility of coordinating and issuing regulations to the airlines lies with the NCAA,” Tunji-Ojo added.

“This shows our commitment to the protection of our country, to border security, and to ensure that our sovereignty as a nation is well respected.”

The interior minister further noted that the e-Visa system is designed not only to strengthen border controls but also to simplify entry processes for visitors.

“The e-Visa will make it easier for people to come into Nigeria while enhancing the security of our country,” he said.

The Agence française de développement (AFD) is contributing an additional €3 million to the African Development Bank (AfDB)-managed Africa Digital Financial Inclusion Facility (ADFI) to help accelerate financial inclusion in Africa.

The additional funding brings the total amount to €5 million, with the goal of assisting the ADFI partnership in catalysing digital financial solutions across Africa by increasing investment in scalable and replicable initiatives that provide access to credit and other financial services that promote investment and entrepreneurship in underserved communities.

Recent data from the AFD suggest that about half of the continent’s adult population, notably women, youth, farmers, small businesses, and rural communities, do not have access to digital financial solutions.

The ADFI, founded in 2019 by the AfDB, the Gates Foundation, and the Luxembourg Ministry of Finance, aims to accelerate the mobilisation of financial and human resources to align financial systems with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, ensuring that vulnerable populations, particularly those in climate-affected regions, have access to financial tools that will help them adapt and thrive.

Mohamadou Ba, head of the AfDB’s financial intermediation and inclusion division, commented: “Digital financial solutions are key to improving the quality of life of people in Africa and reducing the gender access to finance gap. We welcome the Agence française de développement’s renewed support of the catalytic role ADFI has been playing in accelerating greater access and usage of digital financial solutions and financial inclusion across the continent.”

Audrey Brule-Françoise, head of AFD’s financial systems division, added: “Developing digital financial services is a key pathway to reach financially excluded populations in Africa.”

The European Commission (EU) said it had launched a strategy on Wednesday to remove barriers to the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and better equip Europe’s companies for global competition.

At the presentation of its new AI strategy, the Brussels authority announced that it would simplify rules, promote investment and massively expand the establishment of its own data centres.

The aim of the AI Continent Action Plan was to “transform Europe’s strong traditional industries and its exceptional talent pool into powerful engines of AI innovation and acceleration,’’ according to a statement released.

There has been criticism from the tech industry that European regulations such as the AI Act were too bureaucratic and hostile to innovation.

One focus of the new strategy is on infrastructure and data centres.

The commission called on member states to apply for the construction of so-called AI gigafactories to train particularly powerful AI models.

A total investment of 20 billion euros (22 billion dollars) is to be earmarked for this purpose.

According to the Brussels authority, only 13.5 per cent of companies in Europe currently use AI technologies, a figure the commission wants to increase significantly.

So far, the EU has lagged behind China and the U.S. in AI technologies, for example. Germany’s outgoing digital minister, Volker Wissing, welcomed the plan and called for less bureaucracy and better investment conditions.

The German AI Association on the other hand said the strategy had little new substance.

“The European AI sector does not need any more announcements regarding previously known measures and small-scale individual strategies.

“But it’s functional funding and award procedures that can keep pace with the speed of technological development,’’ said association head Jörg Bienert.