• Urges Tinubu to Reverse Decision
By Abiola Olawale
The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has condemned the Federal Government’s recent decision to increase Nigerian passport fees.
This is as the organisation labelled the move as “arbitrary, unlawful, and discriminatory.”
The New Diplomat reports that the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) recently announced that, starting from September 1, 2025, the cost of a 32-page, five-year validity passport will increase to ₦100,000, while the 64-page, 10-year validity passport will now cost ₦200,000 for applications within Nigeria.
This marks the second fee hike in two years, following a similar increase in September 2024, when the 32-page passport fee jumped from ₦35,000 to ₦50,000 and the 64-page booklet from ₦70,000 to ₦100,000, respectively.
In an open letter signed by SERAP’s Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, the organization urged President Bola Tinubu to direct the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, and the Comptroller General of the NIS, Kemi Nanna Nandap, to reverse the decision immediately.
SERAP argued that the fee increase violates Nigerians’ fundamental rights under the 1999 Constitution, the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
The statement reads in part: “Millions of disadvantaged Nigerians cannot realistically afford to pay the increased fees.
“These Nigerians should not be forced to spend their limited and grossly inadequate income to pay the increased fees instead of spending it on their basic living needs.
“The Minister of Interior and the Comptroller General of the NIS acted unlawfully when they arbitrarily increased the passport fees.
“The unreasonable and disproportionate increase in passport fees is incompatible with the provisions of chapters 2 and 4 of the Nigerian Constitution covering fundamental objectives and directive principles of state policy and fundamental rights.
“Nigerians who cannot afford to pay the excessive fees would be denied the effective enjoyment of their citizenship rights conferred by the Nigerian Constitution 1999 [as amended] and human rights treaties to which the country is a state party.”
