By John Umeh
The Federal Government has defended its decision to increase the cost of obtaining Nigerian passports to ₦100,000 and ₦200,000, explaining that the adjustment is necessary to maintain standards, stop corrupt practices, and guarantee faster processing.
In a statement issued Thursday by the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) spokesperson, ACI AS Akinlabi, it was announced that beginning September 1, 2025, applications within Nigeria will attract ₦100,000 for a 32-page passport with five-year validity and ₦200,000 for a 64-page passport with ten-year validity. The service clarified that the changes apply only to applications made in Nigeria. Nigerians in the diaspora will continue to pay $150 and $230 for the two categories, respectively.
This latest review comes just a year after an earlier hike in August 2024, which raised fees from ₦35,000 to ₦50,000 for the 32-page booklet and from ₦70,000 to ₦100,000 for the 64-page option. Authorities at the time argued that the increase was necessary to improve quality and service delivery.
Minister of Interior, Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, speaking during the ministry’s mid-tenure performance retreat in Abuja, said the government’s goal is to ensure that every applicant receives a passport within a week of enrollment. He insisted that the reforms will end delays and remove the extortion that previously forced applicants to pay up to ₦200,000 unofficially to fast-track their documents.
“The system we met had a backlog of six months, but we cleared it in less than three weeks. Nigerians used to wait endlessly or be forced to pay heavily to get a passport. Even my daughter had that experience years ago, when I was still in the National Assembly. I had to pay hundreds of thousands before a 12-year-old could get her passport. That era is over,” the minister recounted.
He further revealed that a new centralized personalization facility — the largest of its kind in Africa — now enables the NIS to print five times more passports than the country currently requires. With the new setup, applications can be vetted within 24 hours, removing the long delays that once plagued the process.
As part of broader reforms, Tunji-Ojo announced that Passport Control Officers (PCOs) will no longer have the authority to approve or delay applications, a step he described as crucial to ending corruption.
“Some officers abused their powers, withholding approval until they were bribed. We have taken that power away. Approval is now centralized. The less human contact, the less corruption,” he said.
The minister also emphasized that the reforms aim to protect the credibility of Nigeria’s passport and prevent foreigners from acquiring it illegally.
He recalled a case where a Ugandan woman was caught at Lagos Airport with a Nigerian passport allegedly bought for $1,000. “That must never happen again. Our passport is a symbol of national identity and integrity. It should only be held by Nigerians,” he declared.
