As Nigerians continue to decry the incessant hike in the price of getting the country’s passport, the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo has shockingly said the recent increase was to check corrupt practices in the procurement process.
The Government had on Thursday, August 28, 2025 announced a new price regime of 100 percent increase in passport fees, raising the 32-page five years booklet from N50,000 to N100, 000 and the 64-page 10 years booklet from N100,000 to N200,000.
While Nigerians are condemning the government for increasing the price of procuring passport for the fourth time under three years in the face economic hardship, the minister’s lame excuse is that they want to curb corruption
Speaking at a mid-tenure performance retreat in Abuja on Saturday, the minister said : “Our target is clear: within one week of enrolment, every Nigerian should have their passport in hand. Not just timely delivery, but quality passports that reflect our integrity as a nation.
He stated “My responsibility is not just to make passports available, but to ensure that anybody carrying it is a Nigerian. If you are not a Nigerian, you cannot carry it. It’s about our national integrity.”
He added that the new fees are tied to reforms aimed at eliminating bottlenecks and corrupt practices that have long undermined the passport issuance system.
Tunji-Ojo said applicants who cannot afford to pay bribes as high N200,000 had their passports delayed for up to seven months.
“Some PCOs had so much power that they could decide not to print a passport until they were settled. That abuse of power ends now.
The Minister further said “Even when I was chairman of the House Committee on NDDC, I had to pay hundreds of thousands to get a passport for my 12-year-old daughter. That era is over”.
He added that government investments have resulted in the establishment of a centralised passport personalisation centre, said to be the largest in Africa, capable of producing passports five times faster than before and delivering approvals within 24 hours.”
Despite the minister’s explanations, not many Nigerians are impressed as his arguments fall flat whether on curbing corruption or integrity of the passport.
Many Nigerians wonder how many countries can Nigerian passport give Nigerians access to without being frisking them like common criminals or will it guarantee that non Nigerians still do not have the Nigerian passport?
Some staff of the Service told DVCInsights that despite the millions being raked in yearly, their welfare remains embarrassingly poor,which accounts for why the corruption they want to curb will never be achieved.
