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Nigerians in the United Kingdom have been advised not to pay any additional fees beyond the official passport charges while taking part in the ongoing special passport intervention exercise.
The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, gave the clarification following concerns over possible extra charges associated with the intervention programme being offered to Nigerians in the UK.
Tunji-Ojo, through his Special Adviser, Alao Babatunde, explained in a statement on Monday that the exercise was introduced to give Nigerians in the UK an alternative and more convenient way to process their international passports.
He said the intervention became necessary because of the difficulties and inconveniences Nigerians had experienced while trying to access passport services.
The minister stressed that neither the Ministry of Interior nor the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) had approved additional charges for the exercise.
“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,” he said.
Tunji-Ojo urged applicants to be wary of anyone demanding payments outside the approved fees, noting that the government had not introduced any other charges for the passport intervention.
“Neither the Ministry of Interior nor the Nigeria Immigration Service has introduced any other charges outside the aforementioned,” the minister added.
He also disclosed that discussions were ongoing with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to address challenges encountered by Nigerians during the passport application process and prevent such difficulties from continuing.
According to the minister, the Federal Government remains committed to improving services for Nigerians both within the country and abroad.
“This government has demonstrated high level of responsibility to Nigerians home and abroad, and remains committed to its promises of providing succour to all,” he said.
Applicants in the UK were further encouraged to use the contactless biometric passport application system as part of efforts to make the process more seamless and reduce the need for applicants to undergo unnecessary procedures.
The special intervention exercise is expected to provide additional access to passport services for Nigerians in the UK while authorities work to resolve the challenges that prompted the initiative.
