Nigeria has renewed its contract with domestic firm IRIS Smart Technologies for a period of four years and for the production of 10 million e-passport booklets, according to senior officials.Minister of Interior Abba Moro said on Wednesday that that the Federal Executive Council has ratified the deal anticipating the approval of outgoing President Goodluck Jonathan.The current contract with the service provider, which has spanned over 10 years, has expired, reported The Nation.He said: "The acquisition of the Nigerian passport has increased in rates and so it became imperative that at the expiration of the contract for the production of these passport booklets, that it be renewed for the service provider to continue to provide these passports so that we don't go to the extent that it will become a crisis situation when passports are exhausted and Nigerians clamour for acquisition of passports and they are not available. So, the council looked at the approval of Mr. President and ratified the approval for the continuous provision of Nigerian passport booklets by Iris Smart Technologies Nigeria Ltd."Moro added: "The contract for Iris Technology was renewed for a period of four years and for the production of 10 million e-passport booklets in their various categories of 32-page, 62-page, and their counterpart of diplomatic and official passports."The contract, he said, is completely contractor financed while the production cost to the government for each unit is N693.80 (US$3.40).

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