Saturday, August 30, 2025 - President Bola Tinubu’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Temitope Ajayi has defended the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS)’s controversial increase in passport application fees.
Ajayi claimed on X that Nigerians have been paying even more through unofficial
means to fast-track the process.
On Thursday, August 28, the NIS announced that from
September 1, 2025, a 32-page passport with a five-year validity will cost
₦100,000, while a 64-page passport with a 10-year validity will be priced at
₦200,000.
The revised fees apply only to applications made within
Nigeria. Passports obtained from abroad will remain at $150 and $230,
respectively.
NIS said the upward review was necessary to “uphold the
quality and integrity of the Nigerian Passport.”
However, the hike has drawn heavy criticism from citizens
including opposition figures like Peter Obi.
“The obsession of this administration with putting a burden
on the populace is becoming legendary and continues to reveal its apparent
disconnect with the people and the suffering,” Obi wrote on X.
“The International Passport fees in Nigeria have now
skyrocketed to ₦100,000 for a 32-page booklet and ₦200,000 for 64 pages. This
is the third increase in just two years.
“In a country where the new minimum wage is only ₦70,000,
the cost of a single passport now exceeds a worker’s monthly salary, probably
the only country in the world to achieve this feat.”
In response to the viral criticism, presidential aide,
Temitope Ajayi, wrote, “Nigerians have always paid more than N100k and N200k to
get the 5 years and 10 years valid travel passport, in bribes, to Immigration
officers to get their passports out on time.”
He added “The difference now is: the money will go into
government coffers for same express service instead of private pockets.”
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