The cost of obtaining an international passport in Nigeria has soared to an all-time high of ₦100,000, sparking outrage across the country. Many citizens are taking to the streets of social media to express anger, disbelief, and frustration over what they see as yet another burden placed on already struggling households.
Nigerians are drawing attention to how both minimum wage and passport fees have shifted dramatically from one administration to another, creating what many describe as an “imbalance between income and survival costs.”
📌 A quick look at the figures:
Under Goodluck Jonathan (GEJ): Minimum Wage – ₦18,000, International Passport – ₦7,000
Under Muhammadu Buhari: Minimum Wage – ₦33,000, International Passport – ₦27,000
Under Bola Ahmed Tinubu (2025): Minimum Wage – ₦70,000, International Passport – ₦100,000
Critics are not holding back. Some sarcastically ask: “Did Jonathan and Buhari print their passports in their father’s parlour?” Others say the new minimum wage is practically useless since it is being wiped away by skyrocketing costs of basic services and government charges.
The uproar is even more heated because passports are not luxury items—they are critical for students, workers, businesspeople, and families seeking medical or professional opportunities abroad. With this sharp hike, many fear that ordinary Nigerians will be cut off from global opportunities while only the elite remain unaffected.
Observers argue that the Tinubu administration is undoing the very relief it announced with the new ₦70,000 minimum wage. “What’s the point of increasing salaries,” some ask, “if the same government immediately takes it back through inflated charges?”
For many Nigerians, this latest development has become a symbol of how economic reforms are hitting harder than expected, feeding public suspicion that citizens are being made to bear the brunt of governance inefficiencies.
So the big question remains: Is this a step towards progress—or a deliberate move to empty Nigerians’ wallets of every extra penny earned?
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