The Presidency has defended the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS)’s recent decision to increase passport application fees, arguing that many Nigerians were already paying similar or higher amounts informally to expedite the process.
Temitope Ajayi, Senior Special Assistant to President Bola Tinubu, made this known in a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Friday, amid widespread public outcry over the revised fee structure.
Recall that the NIS on Thursday announced that beginning September 1, 2025, a 32-page passport with five-year validity will cost N100,000, while a 64-page passport valid for 10 years will cost N200,000. The revised rates apply only to applications processed within Nigeria. For Nigerians applying abroad, the fees remain at $150 and $230, respectively.
According to the NIS, the price adjustment is necessary to maintain the “quality and integrity of the Nigerian passport.”
However, the hike has triggered sharp criticism from citizens and opposition leaders, including former presidential candidate Peter Obi. He described the new fees as both “burdensome and insensitive,” especially given Nigeria’s newly approved minimum wage of N70,000.
“The obsession of this administration with putting a burden on the populace is becoming legendary,” Obi stated on X. “In a country where the new minimum wage is N70,000, the cost of obtaining a single passport now exceeds a worker’s monthly salary—probably the only country in the world to achieve this feat.”
The policy has also drawn backlash for being the third such increase in two years, prompting concerns over accessibility and affordability for ordinary Nigerians.
In response, the Presidency argued that the new pricing structure formalizes what many applicants have long paid unofficially.
“Nigerians have always paid more than N100,000 and N200,000 to get five- and ten-year valid passports, through bribes to immigration officers,” the statement read. “The difference now is that the money will go into government coffers for the same express service, instead of private pockets.”
