The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo has explained that the 45 percent increase in international passport fees was due to the foreign exchange rate between the Naira and the dollar.
Tunji-Ojo disclosed this on Friday during a media briefing in Abuja.
According to him, the government cannot subsidize passport fees for Nigerians.
He added that the hike did not affect Nigerians abroad.
Tunji-Ojo said, “The increase in passport fees is a matter of cost-benefit analysis, especially when you consider the exchange rate between the dollar and the naira. If the government were to subsidize anything, I don’t think it should be passports.
“The increase is just from N35,000 to N50,000 — only about 45 percent. There has been no increase in Nigerians abroad.”
His clarification comes as the Nigerian Immigration Service in August 2024 announced an upward review of the Nigerian Standard Passport fees.
According to the new fee review, a 32-page passport booklet with five-year validity, previously charged at N35,000, now costs N50,000, while a 64-page passport booklet with 10-year validity, which was N70,000, now costs N100,000.