The Centre for human and socio-economic rights (CHSR) has condemned the newly announced 42% price increase in the procurement of passport by the federal government, describing it as draconian, undemocratic and uncalled for.
The Centre therefore called for immediate reversal of the move in the interest of good governance.
The right Centre noted in the statement that Nigerians are currently faced with the challenges of high cost of living occasioned by the fuel scarcity which had led to the return of long queues at different petrol stations.
The Centre said rather than increasing the cost of procuring passport, the federal government should be more concerned about incentives that will enhance the welfare of the people as well as addressing the worsening insecurity in the country.
“This is not the time to inflict more hardship on the people but to help Nigerians cope with the difficult challenges of survival. CHSR, as a matter of urgency, demand that the federal government should immediately revert to the old charges and mandate the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) to maintain the status quo”, the right Centre said.
The Centre for human and socio-economic rights is a service oriented non-governmental Organization (NGO) registered as a corporate body to defend, sustain and promote the fundamental human and socio-economic rights of every Nigerians as guaranteed by the Nigeria constitution.
The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), DCI Kenneth Udo had disclosed has announced a hike in the cost of obtaining Nigeria’s international passport in a statement on Wednesday night in Abuja, saying the move is “part of efforts to maintain the quality and integrity of the Nigerian Standard Passport.”
According to price regime, which take effect from 1st September, 2024, the 32-page passport booklet with a 5-year validity previously charged at Thirty-five Thousand Naira (N35,000.00) will now be Fifty Thousand Naira (N50,000.00) only, while the 64-page passport booklet with a 10-year validity, which was Seventy Thousand Naira (N70,000.00), will now be One Hundred Thousand Naira (N100,000.00) only.
