The 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Mr. Peter Obi, has criticised the Federal Government for the increase in the cost of obtaining the Nigerian Standard Passport.
Obi condemned the price rise, comparing it with the national minimum wage of ₦70,000, which is significantly lower.
ThelensNG reported the increase on Thursday, as announced by the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), effective from September 1, 2025.
Reacting to the development, Obi stated: “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. In a country where the new minimum wage is only ₦70,000, the cost of a single passport now exceeds a worker’s monthly salary, probably the only country in the world to achieve this feat.”
He lamented that instead of making life easier, President Bola Tinubu‘s 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,” the politician further decried.
