The announcement by Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) to increase Nigerian Standard Passport fees with effect from Sept. 1 to N100,000 and N200,000 has attracted strong rebuke from a section of Nigerians.
In a statement by the Service Public Relations Officer (SPRO) Mr Akinsola Akinlabi on Thursday in Abuja, the upward review was to uphold the quality and integrity of the Nigerian passport, adding that with the new rates, applications made in Nigeria will now cost N100,000 for a 32-page booklet with five-year validity.
”Applications made in Nigeria for a 64-page booklet with 10 years validity will cost N200, 000.
”Applications made by Nigerians in the diaspora remain $150 for a 32-page booklet with five-year validity and $230 for a 64-page booklet with 10-year validity.”
However, hours after the announcement, Nigerians have taken to social media to protest the increase as one price hike too many.
On X, some Nigerians who responded to the new passport fees said it was insensitive to the feelings of Nigerians and the current state of suffering in the country.
One of the respondents, @Irunnia_ asked: “Why will the passport of a country cost times the minimum wage?
At Knawtie Gbedu🇰@KnawtieGbedu wrote: “You will be spending over 300k for that 64-page 10-year validity.”
@USMOVIC tweeted “The Tax collector at his best again,” in veiled reference to the multiple fees and taxes under the President Tinubu government.
A certain X user @Amaebo3 wrote: “And I paid 140k to immigration office for 32 pages for 5 years”, ending his message with a weeping emoji.
One Elozona Chukwu (@Elozona) said “Whenever the government introduces a policy with little impact—say 5% benefit to the people—it is implemented almost immediately. But when it comes to policies that carry real value and could benefit up to 70% of the masses, the same government drags its feet as though it will take eternity to deliver. In Nigeria today, the only right we truly enjoy is the right to cast our votes. Every other dividend of good governance has been stripped away from us.”
Ebonyi News Network tweeted: “So if I want to renew my passport, I now have to sell a goat, a generator, and maybe my left shoe?
N100k for 32 pages? At that price, the passport should come with VIP airport access, free jollof rice on arrival, and maybe a Spotify subscription.”
@chinemelumma wrote: “Tinubu refused to fix the economy, and now he’s making it difficult for Nigerians to “Japa” to a healthy environment, where they can thrive.Is this not dictatorship?
