Former Nigerian ambassadors have said the new upward review of the fees for Nigerian passports would not reduce the japa syndrome but rather worsen the hardship afflicting the people.
The Nigeria Immigration Service recently announced that a 100 per cent price increment for the passport would begin on September 1, 2024 to ensure the quality and integrity of the Nigerian Standard Passport system.
The NIS said a 32-page passport booklet with five-year validity previously charged at N35,000 has increased to N50,000, while a 64-page passport booklet with 10-year validity which was N70,000 will be N100,000.
But speaking with Sunday PUNCH, a former ambassador to the Philippines, Yemi Farounbi, explained that although the increment might be necessary given the upsurge in inflation rate, the move would only worsen the hardship in the country.
The former ambassador said, “There is nothing whose price has not gone up in the last one year. 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 per cent or thereabouts will not discourage those who want to leave because they are being pulled by stronger forces than the cost of passports.”
Also speaking, a former Nigeria Consul to Cameroon, Rasheed Akinkuolie, noted that there were important issues the government should concentrate on rather than increasing the passport fees as more people were currently suffering from insecurity and the high inflation rate affecting prices of items.
Punch