Citing variations in the dollar-to-naira exchange rate, Nigeria’s Interior Minister Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo has defended a 45% rise in passport fees.
He clarified that the government was no longer able to cover the passport’s expense. Nigerian Standard Passport prices increased in August, according to the Nigerian Immigration Service.
A 32-page passport booklet with a five-year validity is now N50,000, and a 64-page booklet with a 10-year validity is now N100,000.
Numerous Nigerians have voiced their displeasure with the increased levies, with some accusing the government of raising the cost of residents looking for chances overseas.
Tunji-Ojo, however, downplayed the criticism, claiming that the charge adjustment only applies to Nigerians residing in the nation and that there is no change in passport fees for those who live elsewhere.
He underlined that, taking into account the exchange rate between the dollar and the naira, the rise in passport fees is a matter of cost-benefit analysis.
