Former Nigerian ambassadors have expressed concerns that the recent increase in passport fees by the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) will exacerbate the economic hardship faced by citizens, rather than deter the growing “japa” trend of emigration.
Starting September 1, 2024, the NIS will implement a 100 percent price hike for Nigerian passports. The cost of a 32-page passport booklet with a five-year validity will rise from N35,000 to N50,000, while the 64-page booklet with a 10-year validity will increase from N70,000 to N100,000. The NIS justified the increase as necessary to maintain the quality and integrity of the Nigerian passport system.
However, in an interview with *Sunday PUNCH*, former Nigerian ambassador to the Philippines, Yemi Farounbi, acknowledged that while the fee increase might be inevitable due to inflation, it would only worsen the financial strain on Nigerians. Farounbi argued that the increased cost of passports would not deter those seeking to leave the country, as stronger factors than the price of passports are driving the emigration surge.
“There is nothing whose price has not gone up in the last year,” Farounbi noted. “Unfortunately, the poor people are the carriers of this burden, so rather than ease the burden on the common man or the average Nigerian, we have only added to it. Increasing the cost of passports by almost 100 percent will not discourage those who want to leave because they are being pulled by stronger forces than the cost of passports.”
Echoing this sentiment, Rasheed Akinkuolie, a former Nigerian Consul to Cameroon, criticized the government’s decision to raise passport fees, suggesting that the focus should instead be on addressing more pressing issues such as insecurity and the high inflation rate that continues to drive up the cost of living for Nigerians.
The criticism from the former diplomats highlights concerns that the passport fee hike could deepen the economic challenges facing many Nigerians, without addressing the underlying reasons for the emigration trend.
