BAUCHI — A Bauchi-based social commentator, David Adenuga, has condemned the recent increase in the cost of obtaining international passports by the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), describing it as “another anti-people policy” that deepens citizens’ suffering.
In a statement issued on Thursday, Adenuga faulted the hike which doubled passport fees — from ₦50,000 to ₦100,000 for a 32-page booklet (five-year validity), and from ₦100,000 to ₦200,000 for the 64-page booklet (10-year validity). He argued that the increment is “unjustifiable” at a time when Nigerians are already grappling with biting economic hardship.
“This latest hike comes barely a year after government raised the fee from ₦35,000 to ₦50,000. It is exploitative and reflects poor governance,” Adenuga said.
He noted that in more responsive societies, essential documents like passports are subsidized to ensure accessibility. But in Nigeria, he lamented, leaders instead “pile more pressure on the masses under the guise of cost recovery and operational sustainability.”
According to him, the new charges will further entrench inequality by restricting access to passports to only the wealthy and political elite, while ordinary Nigerians struggling to survive are denied opportunities to study, trade, or seek 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 — and now financially imprison them within the country’s borders,” he fumed.
Adenuga urged the government to focus on improving service delivery, eliminating extortion, and making the passport process seamless, rather than 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.”
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