By Tonnie Iredia
From the take-off of the current federal government in Nigeria till today, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, the nation’s current minister of Interior has been seen by many as one of President Bola Tinubu’s best appointees. Young, agile and proactive, Tunji-Ojo has left no one in doubt that he would sustain high performances all through his tenure.
Indeed, at the beginning of year 2025, his presentation of his account of stewardship was received with general ovation. At a ministerial briefing in January, Tunji-Ojo gave Nigerians hope with revelations of what his ministry and its agencies had swiftly achieved. First, the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) had at the end of 2024 successfully issued a total of 1.8 million passports while clearing a backlog of 200 applications.
In what looked like a turning point in a system often bogged down by bureaucracy, the NIS also rescued 137 victims of human trafficking and disrupted 42 migrant smuggling operations. This posture clearly underscored a determination to among other things safeguard Nigeria’s vulnerable populations. As if to establish beyond reasonable doubt that it had more than issuance of passport as a priority, the agency also focussed on border security by promptly completing the first phase of an innovative e-border solution initiative thereby enhancing the management and oversight of no less than 40 percent of Nigeria’s hitherto problematic borders. New vehicles and e-gates were also reportedly deployed to fortify the nation’s defences against illegal activities.
This laudable background was however largely distorted last week when the federal government announced a huge increase in passport fees in Nigeria, the second in quick succession. According to media reports, the NIS through its spokesperson, ACI Akinlabi, announced an upward review of fees for the Nigerian Standard Passport. Under the new structure, the 32-page passport with a five-year validity will now cost ¦ 100,000, while the 64-page passport with a 10-year validity will be priced at N200,000. Akinlabi also revealed that the revised fees would only affect Passport Application fees made within Nigeria adding that the adjustment is intended to maintain the quality and integrity of the passport.
The increase to some Nigerians is one too many – an understandable perspective bearing in mind that the increases have happened about 6 times in the last 15 years, the last being only a year ago. The group that is nursing the grudge that the rising cost of the passport was unfairly targeted at them is the generation of young citizens who have in recent times been battling inflation, and unemployment. An overview of reactions in the social media to the latest increase shows that many of them are convinced that the rise was done to block their exit wall in their urge to seek opportunities abroad. Some 15 years ago, the fee was only N15.000 for the standard 32-page passport while minors and older folks paid even less. The bigger 64-page booklet went for N 20,000 only
By 2018, things drastically changed as the government introduced the “enhanced e-passport” and hiked the prices. While a 32-page booklet was moved to N 25,000, the 64-page jumped to N 70,000. In August 2024, the 32-page had quietly climbed to N 35,000, while the 64-page remained at N 70,000 only for the latest increase to move the fees to N 50,000 for 32 pages and N100,000 for 64 pages.
It is not only young people that are unhappy with the current increase, there are also negative reactions from older critics and political opponents of the government. Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party during the 2023 general elections was among the first to criticise the move.
Reacting in a post on his X account, Obi described the government’s decision, as “insensitive in the light of the current economic hardship in the country” calling it a burden on the populace which reflects an apparent disconnect with the ordinary people. To dismiss Obi’s criticism as prompted by political opposition would be simplistic when it is realized that the increase places Nigeria above virtually every other country with respect to passport fees. In the United States, it is 14% of the minimum wage, China 4.5%, Japan 8.9%, Germany 3.5%and in the UK and France it is 4.8 and 5% respectively.
Even within the African continent, the cost of the Nigerian passport is probably the highest. In South Africa, it is 13%, Egypt 6.4%, Morocco 15.3% and Algeria 30%. The higher ones which are Kenya 49% and Ghana 64% are less than half the value in Nigeria whose passport is as high as 143% of the minimum wage.
Against this backdrop, it is not unfair to call on our government to review its latest increase. Another reason why the cost ought to be reviewed is that it is at variance with President Tinubu’s reactions to the current hardship in the country. He appears to be the only one in his government who recognizes the pains of Nigerians and is permanently appealing to them to bear with him. One is therefore tempted to believe that if the comparisons with other countries shared above are brought to his attention, he might order a review of the cost of our passport.
There is also the issue of timing. The problem is not just about the point at which the increase was made, another relevant issue about time concerns the immediate nature of the commencement of the new fees. Of course, 10 days only between the pronouncement of the policy and the date of implementation is too short. History tells us that the first few weeks of a policy in Nigeria are always turbulent for even the implementing agency.
Some of their own officials would not even have heard of the new policy while those who had heard may still be awaiting last minute briefing on the details of the policy. As for the citizens for whose sake the policy was supposedly formulated, poor public enlightenment would virtually mar the first stages of implementation. It is therefore suggested that the take-off date be shifted by not less than 3 months to give the public more time to acclimatize to the rigours of the impact of the policy.
However, government needs to note that no matter for how long the implementation is delayed, most Nigerians may find it difficult to appreciate why their government should adopt the posture of a trader rather than that of a benevolent protector of citizens. A passport as it is usually said belongs to the state. Its greatest value is that it automatically reveals the country of a citizen whom it introduces to the world at large thereby evoking a spirit of patriotism in the citizen concerned. But is it still the property of the state in the real sense when it is virtually sold at market price to the holder? The question is critical in view of the point made by the immigration service that the cost of the passport has become higher because of the need to sustain a high quality as well as to deliver it promptly to the holder.
From what has been said so far, there is need for the authorities to be cautious about using items such as passport as a tool for revenue generation. Quite often it is argued that such revenue collections do not concern the poor. It is submitted that the argument is simplistic because when the elite is over taxed, it passes the burden to the poor through its own production.
If a wealthy citizen who runs a bakery for instance finds himself paying more taxes than before, he merely increases the cost of bread which the ordinary citizen greatly desires making it obvious that the economy runs through a system’s approach. This is why agencies that think they are raising money for government must quickly rethink and evolve a more sustainable public policy on numerous indirect taxations.
The statement credited to Temitope Ajayi, Senior Special Assistant to the President that Nigerians have always paid more than the official fees in bribes, to Immigration officers so as to get their passports out on time is no doubt correct but it is irritating. Using it to explain high fees suggests that we cherish punishing only those who offer bribes while doing nothing to those who demand the bribes.
The way forward in our considered opinion is for government to stamp out fraudulent practices from our agencies by focusing on dealing with insider abuses. We all know the bribes will continue in our Immigration service no matter the increases in the official charges for passports. Minister Tunji-Ojo should therefore insist on a reduction in the proposed increases while ensuring that his agencies embrace transparency and work for their pay.
*Dr. Iredia is a commentator on public issues
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