Peter Obi, the former presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), has criticised President Bola Tinubu’s government for jerking up passport fees by 100 per cent.
Mr Obi said that rather than making life more comfortable for Nigerians, the government makes it more difficult. He decried that the passport fee exceeds the N70,000 minimum wage.
“Instead of making life easier, this government keeps shifting the burden onto ordinary Nigerians. It is alarming that the price of the international passport is higher than what workers earn in a month,” he wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
The reaction of the opposition leader came after the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) hiked the cost of a 32-page passport booklet to N100,000, and a 64-page booklet to N200,000.
Mr Tinubu’s regime had, in August 2024, raised the price of a 32-page (five-year) passport booklet from N35,000 to N50,000, while the 64-page (10-year) booklet went from N70,000 to N100,000.
Further reacting, Mr Obi said the latest hikes are outrageous when weighed against the country’s current economic realities.
“The obsession of this administration with putting a burden on the populace is becoming legendary and continues to reveal its apparent disconnect with the people and the suffering.
“The international passport fees in Nigeria have now skyrocketed to ₦100,000 for a 32-page booklet and ₦200,000 for 64 pages. This is the third increase in just two years,” the politician stated.
