Southern Nigerians Cry Foul As Northerners Get 70% Waiver In Cost of Passports
BY LEVI JOHNSON
There is a massive discrepancy in the federal government’s (FG) charges for passports in the southern part of Nigeria compared to the northern.
A check at the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) website revealed that the passport costs as much as N25,000 in southern states like Abia, while processing from northern states like Yola costs N10,750 for the same 32 booklets.
It therefore implies that 70 per cent waiver have been granted to the people living in the northern part of Nigeria at the expense of their southern counterpart.
The discovery has gotten lots of Nigerians talking on social media.
A tweet, @ose_anenih, posted; “That ‘One Nigeria’ passport price disparity is true. I just checked myself. You can, too, here: https://passport.immigration.gov.ng/application It feels very unfair to have Abia applicants paying N25k while Adamawa pays N10k; what is the justification for this SOUTHERN* tax?
“Nigeria is riven with these systemic imbalances that show us we are not united; if we are to build a nation we HAVE TO address these things.”
That ‘One Nigeria’ passport price disparity is true. I just checked myself. You can too here: https://t.co/6hOPXKHokT
— Ose Anenih (@ose_anenih) September 1, 2022
It feels very unfair to have Abia applicants paying N25k while Adamawa pays N10k; what is the justification for this SOUTHERN* tax?@TundeIrukera @fccpcnigeria pic.twitter.com/jeOqSI2LTd
Another Twitter user, @Franeb, said; “Ordinary passport you can see the disparity. Same thing for Healthcare, Education etc. These are privileges his people are enjoying and you think he will remove free food from their mouth in the name of Restructuring? You people think we’re fools. I’d be here to remind you”.
https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=true&embedId=twitter-widget-1&features
@getKennethed22: “The North is the greatest beneficiary of this geographical fraud call Nigeria. They do not pay tax, light bill,etc. There is even price disparity in Nigerian Passport. The South pays more, Abia 25k, Lagos 28, Adamawa 10k.”
@DrVic_Exotic: “How can someone from Kaduna pay N17k for a new passport while a person from Ebonyi or Bayelsa pays N25k for the same passport? Is there any moral or legal justification for this unjust disparity?”
@Wolfswinkel12: “@nigimmigration please come and explain to us why there is disparity in cost of getting a passport for ppl from the south and for the north and why ar the southerners charged the more Ar some Nigerians more Nigerian than the others?”
@nigimmigration please come and explain to us why there is disparity in cost of getting a passport for ppl from the south and for the north and why ar the southerners charged the more Ar some Nigerians more Nigerian than the others?@AishaYesufu @SavvyRinu please look into this. pic.twitter.com/oA0BDbM0g6
— @chuba? (@Wolfswinkel12) September 1, 2022
