FG reacts to backlash, says new passport fees will end ‘extortion’ and ‘delays’

GistReel

The Federal Government has defended its decision to raise the cost of obtaining Nigerian passports to ₦100,000 and ₦200,000, insisting that the increase is necessary to improve efficiency, curb corruption, and protect the integrity of the nation’s travel documents.

The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), in a statement by its Public Relations Officer, ACI AS Akinlabi, announced on Thursday that the new fees will take effect from September 1, 2025.

Under the revised structure, applications filed within Nigeria will cost ₦100,000 for a 32-page, five-year booklet and ₦200,000 for a 64-page, 10-year booklet. Nigerians abroad will continue to pay $150 and $230, respectively.

According to the NIS, the upward review is aimed at sustaining the quality of the passport and ensuring faster service delivery.

Speaking at the Ministry of Interior’s mid-tenure performance retreat in Abuja, Minister of Interior, Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, said the hike would ensure timely processing and eliminate corruption in the system.

“Our target is very clear: within one week of enrolment, every Nigerian should have their passport in hand. Not just delivering quickly, but delivering quality passports that reflect our integrity as a nation,” he said.

The minister recalled how passport applicants were previously forced to wait for several months or pay huge sums to expedite processing.

He shared a personal experience, noting that even his 12-year-old daughter’s application once cost him hundreds of thousands of naira to secure.

“The system that we inherited that had six months backlog which we were able to clear in two and a half weeks. Nigerians will apply for passports and wait endlessly, or be asked to pay hundreds of thousands of naira. My own daughter had that bad experience. Even when I was chairman of the House Committee on NDDC, my daughter wanted passport, it was a problem. I had to pay hundreds of thousands to be able to get a passport for my daughter, a 12-year-old girl. That era is over,” he stated.

Tunji-Ojo explained that the centralised personalisation centre described as the largest in Africa has strengthened production capacity and now allows the printing of five times more passports than current demand.

“We realised that the best way to cut corruption is to remove human contact to the barest minimum. Passport approval will no longer rest with PCOs. My responsibility is not for them to like me — it is to deliver efficiency. Let Nigerians be happy,” the minister said.

He further announced that Passport Control Officers (PCOs) will no longer have the authority to delay or withhold applications, a reform he said would eliminate abuse of power.

“Some PCOs had so much power that they could decide not to approve or print a passport until they were settled. That abuse of power ends now. The best way to cut corruption is to reduce human contact to the barest minimum,” the minister added.

He stressed that the reforms were also designed to safeguard national identity, citing incidents where non-Nigerians had fraudulently obtained the country’s passport.

“My responsibility is not just to make passports available, but to ensure that anybody carrying it is a Nigerian. If you are not a Nigerian, you cannot carry it. It’s about our national integrity,” he declared.

The latest increase follows a similar review in August 2024, when the government increased fees for the 32-page booklet from ₦35,000 to ₦50,000 and the 64-page booklet from ₦70,000 to ₦100,000.