Nigeria, March 10 -- The Nigerian government has launched a temporary passport to replace the Emergency Travel Certificate (ETC).

The passport was launched by the Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, on Tuesday in Abuja.

The temporary passport is International Civil Aviation Organisation -compliant and is valid for only 30 days.

"It is a replacement for the hitherto Emergency Travel Certificate (ETC) which was issued to Nigerians in emergency situations where their passports were not available and had need to travel to Nigeria," Mr Aregbesola said.

"This new document is not a replacement for the Nigerian passport, it will only serve a temporary purpose in the case of loss or misplacement of the Nigerian passport by a Nigerian abroad...