The Federal Government has clarified that Nigerians participating in the ongoing special passport intervention exercise in the United Kingdom are not required to pay any fees beyond the officially approved passport charges.
The Minister of Interior, Hon. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, made the clarification on Monday following reports of difficulties experienced by some Nigerians in the UK while applying for or processing their international passports under the special intervention programme.
According to a statement signed by the Minister’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Alao Babatunde, the intervention was introduced to expand access and provide additional opportunities for Nigerians in the UK to complete their passport applications.
The statement stressed that applicants should only pay the official passport fees approved by the Federal Government.
“It is therefore necessary to clarify that this process does not come with extra cost different from the official fees of $150 and $230 for a five-year and ten-year validity passports respectively, exclusive of bank charges,” the statement said.
The minister further emphasized that no additional charges have been approved by either the Ministry of Interior or the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS).
“Neither the Ministry of Interior nor the Nigeria Immigration Service has introduced any other charges outside the aforementioned,” the statement added.
To address the concerns raised by applicants, Tunji-Ojo disclosed that discussions are already underway with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to resolve the challenges encountered during the exercise.
“However, consultations are ongoing with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to ensure that any inconveniences during this process do not persist any longer,” the statement noted.
Reaffirming the administration’s commitment to improving service delivery for Nigerians at home and abroad, the minister said the government remains focused on fulfilling its promises to citizens.
“This government has demonstrated high level of responsibility to Nigerians home and abroad, and remains committed to its promises of providing succour to all,” the statement said.
The ministry also encouraged Nigerians seeking passport services to make use of the contactless biometric passport application system, describing it as a seamless option for processing passport applications.
