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Nigeria Passport Minister of Interior says reforms will end extortion, backlog, and abuse of power in passport processing
The Federal Government has defended its decision to increase the cost of obtaining Nigerian passports to as high as N200,000, insisting that the hike is necessary to guarantee timely delivery, curb corruption, and preserve the integrity of the country’s travel documents.
From September 1, 2025, Nigerians applying within the country will pay N100,000 for the 32-page, five-year validity passport, and N200,000 for the 64-page, 10-year validity passport. The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) announced the new fees in a statement signed by its spokesperson, ACI AS Akinlabi, on Thursday. Nigerians in the diaspora, however, will continue to pay $150 and $230 for the 32-page and 64-page booklets, respectively.
Minister of Interior, Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, speaking in Abuja during the ministry’s mid-tenure performance retreat, justified the increase, declaring that the reforms will eliminate long delays, remove opportunities for extortion, and ensure Nigerians receive their passports within a week of application.
“Our target is very clear: within one week of enrolment, every Nigerian should have their passport in hand. Not just delivering quickly, but delivering quality passports that reflect our integrity as a nation,” he said.
He recalled the frustration that once plagued the system, noting that citizens were either forced to wait up to seven months for their passports or pay unofficial charges running into hundreds of thousands of naira to fast-track the process. He recounted his personal experience of paying exorbitant fees to secure a passport for his daughter.
“That era is over,” Tunji-Ojo declared, stressing that the reforms would make the process transparent and efficient. He pointed to the establishment of a centralised personalisation centre, which he described as the largest in Africa, with the capacity to print five times more passports than the country currently requires.
“With this facility, we can now process and print without delay. Once you enrol, it doesn’t take more than 24 hours to vet your application. Printing capacity is no longer our problem,” he assured.
A major highlight of the reforms is the withdrawal of approval powers from Passport Control Officers (PCOs), who, the minister said, had abused their authority in the past by deliberately withholding applications until applicants offered bribes.
“Some PCOs had so much power that they could decide not to approve or print a passport until they were settled. That abuse of power ends now. Passport approval will no longer rest with them. The best way to fight corruption is to reduce human contact to the barest minimum,” he explained.
The minister emphasized that the reforms were not only about service delivery but also about safeguarding the credibility of the Nigerian passport. He lamented instances where foreigners fraudulently obtained the document, citing the case of a Ugandan woman who was arrested at Lagos Airport after buying a Nigerian passport for $1,000.
“Our responsibility is to make sure the passport remains a true symbol of Nigerian identity. If you are not a Nigerian, you cannot carry it. It’s about protecting our national integrity,” he said.
Thursday’s announcement comes barely a year after the government raised passport fees in August 2024, when the 32-page booklet moved from N35,000 to N50,000, and the 64-page, 10-year booklet increased from N70,000 to N100,000. At the time, officials argued that the adjustment was necessary to sustain quality and improve service delivery.
Now, with fees doubling within one year, government officials maintain that the sacrifice demanded of citizens is justified by the promise of speed, security, and an end to corruption in passport processing.
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