A Bauchi-based social commentator, David Adenuga, has faulted the decision of the Nigeria Immigration Service, NIS, to increase the cost of obtaining international passports, describing it as “another anti-people policy”.
In a statement issued on Thursday Adenuga said the hike of passport fees – from ₦50,000 to ₦100,000 for a 32-page booklet with five-year validity, and from ₦100,000 to ₦200,000 for the 64-page 10-year booklet – was unjustifiable, especially at a time when Nigerians are grappling with economic hardship.
He noted that the latest increment came barely a year after the government raised the fee from ₦35,000 to ₦50,000, a move he described as exploitative and a reflection of poor governance.
“In responsive societies, the cost of essential documents like passports is subsidized to make them accessible to ordinary citizens. But in Nigeria, leaders pile more pressure on the masses under the guise of cost recovery and operational sustainability,” Adenuga said.
According to him, the new charges will further widen inequality by restricting access to passports to only the wealthy and political class, while depriving struggling Nigerians of opportunities for education, business, or medical treatment abroad.
“The irony is that leaders who travel abroad frequently at taxpayers’ expense, often with multiple passports, are blind to how their policies trap citizens in economic hardship at home and now financially imprison them within the country’s borders,” he added.
Adenuga urged the government to focus on improving service delivery, curbing extortion, and making passport issuance seamless, instead of weaponizing pricing as a barrier.
He described the increment as “unjustifiable, inconsiderate, and proof that those in power are disconnected from the realities of ordinary Nigerians”.
NIS passport fee hike anti-people policy – Adenuga
